Suspicious Sentiments
by owl7498
Summary: "A mansion, a storm, 42 pairs of eyes. A trap, A game, 42 alibis. In darkness arising, a killer's set free. Someone is not who they claim to be." This wasn't supposed to happen. But, ultimately, it was their own fault. Character deaths.
1. Enter

_**Step one: Enter**_

_Too late for caution, too early to tell._

_Enter my world, your very own Hell._

_The sky opens up in a pouring rain._

_Unwillingly, you enter the game._

_Is there a victor and will someone win?_

_I am among you and I am herein._

* * *

><p>"I just remembered why I hate Bulgaria."<p>

Green eyes glanced up at the sky.

"Oh shut up, England, it's not as if it' s always like this."

England would have snapped back, but was silenced by a loud crash of thunder. Just great. He looked around, not even sure who had spoken back at him. He glanced at the others gathered around and recognized most of them. Japan, the Italy brothers and Germany, the rest of the [former] allies, and some others. Seychelles, Russia's two sisters, the Baltic trio, and …was that Romania? More than just those were gathered around, though. England couldn't see everyone from his position.

Cold, harsh winds bit at the gathered nations as they stood at the entrance of Bulgaria's home. Each nation was unsure as to why they were there, there only knowledge being that they had each received a letter stating that they were to come. There was neither a reason given, nor anything other than: "Come to my home on the 26th~or else~-Bulgaria." The words were printed on fancy stationary and found in each nation's mailbox two days prior to today.

And so here they were. It was seemingly normal, except for the fact that the "or else" was abnormal for someone like Bulgaria. …But then again, no one really knew anything about Bulgaria, except that Italy seems to piss him off. And he was somewhat paranoid. Bulgaria was a relatively small nation. Still, it was weird. No nation just invited everyone into their house without reason. Well… except for America… or Prussia… or Russia, but who the hell would just go to Russia's house without reason?

England broke out of his silent musings to realize his situation had become very awkward. A silence settled over the many nations as they fidgeted. They had arrived at Bulgaria's house (really just a tall, dark, seemingly haunted mansion), but no one greeted them. England knocked, but no one answered.

One set of bright blue eyes behind a pair of glasses stared up at the looming mansion. It towered over them frighteningly. Meanwhile thunder crashed in the background. America shivered. Because he was cold. Not because he was scared or anything. …Okay, maybe a little scared. But the house, if you chose to call it that, stood eerily with narrow features and metal bars covering every window. It really just gave off a sinister aura. The fact that it was storming did not do good to get rid of the foreboding feeling in the back of America's mind.

…

"So… should we just go in?" America glanced around for an answer. He was getting impatient. He didn't take into consideration that the doors might be locked as went to open them. To everyone's surprise, they were unlocked and opened with a loud creak.

To say the least, it was a bit creepy.

The gathered nations walked into the mansion, and all stood in the large foyer. A large crystal chandelier hung above their heads, and numerous hallways connected to the open space. And because so many countries had come together, there was a huge argument before anything could happen. As always, America would be the first to suggest a direction, England would disagree, then France would disagree with England, Russia would suggest violence, violence would ensue, Germany would lose his temper, and Italy would yell "pasta" really loudly. It was basically like a world meeting. Ultimately, nobody agreed on anything, and they decided to take the hallway that China suggested. It was a long walk filled with a lot more violence and cursing before they got to a stopping point. Everybody arrived at one large dining hall, and decided to stay there until Bulgaria showed up.

America noticed that it was surprisingly colder inside the mansion than outside, which seemed odd. The nations shivered (all except for Russia) as they stood, silently debating on what to do. It was also far larger on the inside than had appeared from the outside. There were many rooms lining the halls, and a curved, spiral staircase led up to another floor. Every corner and twist was sharp and distinct. The halls were lined with various statues and portraits. Bulgaria had bad taste, America noted. Though it probably didn't seem this scary in the daytime.

…

"Now what?" Piped up America.

"Now we wait." Replied Austria simply, as if it was common knowledge and America was an idiot [oh wait…].

"We've been waiting for four hours, bastard!"

"Don't be silly, Romano, it's only been ten minutes~" Came the cheerful voice of Spain.

"Shut it, asshole!"

Spain pouted for a bit, and then began to pester Romano again.

While they did that, everyone else occupied themselves with each other.

At first it was just casual conversation, and no fights. Then Greece and Turkey started arguing. England and France began bickering. Prussia started hitting on Hungary…and Austria. Prussia got hit with a frying pan. Romania filled Prussia's spot and began to quarrel with Hungary. France tried to rape everyone when England started arguing with America. Russia again attempted to make all become one with mother Russia. Belarus happily complied. Russia hid behind China. China screamed "ARU" and left Russia with Belarus, who harassed her brother until Ukraine came over. Sweden and Denmark broke out into a fight as well. As usual it was chaotic. It was just like always.

Just like always.

…

Germany sighed.

"Veh~ I'm scared Germany, it's all dark." Italy said, while scooting closer to Germany. It was a bit darker than they had expected, and all the lights and fireplaces were stone cold. Japan, on his other side, agreed with Italy. If anyone was able to get along…

"Yeah where's the light switch?" Asked America at a rare moment of peace.

Everyone managed to calm down enough to scramble around looking for a light switch. They found one eventually, but to everyone's dismay it didn't work. It wasn't that late, but the storm had blocked the sun and they could only see as much light as the narrow windows would allow.

"Great. Fan-fucking-tastic." Romano growled, while pushing away a certain Spaniard. Really, Spain has got to stop _hugging_ him!

"Yeah, like, when is Bulgaria gonna get here? I have, like, places to be." Whined Poland.

"Aiyah, you're all so impatient." China said, but he appeared restless too.

The nations continued to stand, but no one even attempted to make conversation anymore. A dismal atmosphere settled over them as thunder roared and lightning lit up the sky they couldn't observe. They all just wanted to be out of the freaky building.

…

Hungary, fed up with the fact that Bulgaria still hasn't shown up yet and no one was doing anything, decided to go find Bulgaria herself and figure out what was wrong with his house. If she couldn't find him, maybe she could at least find something useful.

She moved from the wall she'd been leaning on, and towards the nearest exit. Hungary set off down the first hall and in no particular direction. She had never been in Bulgaria's house before. No one objected when she left, though Prussia and Austria trailed behind her. She paid no mind to them, even when they started arguing behind her back.

Her brown hair swayed, and she walked fast, not bothering to memorize the turns she made and the directions she took. At the end of the hallway, she arrived at a set of large, wood doors. Prussia and Austria were still at the other end of the hallway and walking slowly, peeking into every passing open door, hoping to find something. She could hardly make out their shapes in the darkness. Hungary fumbled around for the door handles obscured by the blackness, but managed to find them. With a dramatic flourish, she opened the grandiose doors and walked in.

The expanse was nice, uncluttered and neat. She decided it must have been some sort of office. She envisioned Bulgaria sitting at the desk, doing paperwork. Hungary allowed a small smile to settle on her face. She was about to turn around and leave when she saw something out of place.

Hungary froze.

A small note sticking out from behind the desk. A hand was clutching it. A pale hand, one that was very similar in shape and size to that of Bulgaria's. Hungary quelled the ominous feeling in her mind and advanced forward.

...

A scream pierced the loud silence of the approaching night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, there's the first chapter. Naturally, it sucked. But if you read this and enjoyed it somewhat then I like you. Wait what?**

**Sorry, it's short, but the other chapters are longer. And it will be easier for me to write once I get further in. Btw, everyone dies in the end. If you can't handle character deaths, I'd recommend leaving.**

**If I ever make a mistake in this, please correct me. Sometimes my editor is a failure. **


	2. Commence

_**CHAPTER 2**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 2: Commence<strong>_

_Surprise and a smile; dark in the night._

_Storm crashes loud and gives you a fright. _

_The game commences with the lines of a note._

_Swallow the panic at the back of your throat._

_Don't tell me you think this is some kind of joke._

_The evidence is there, and your throat starts to choke._

* * *

><p>The scream was unmistakably Hungary's.<p>

Immediately, everyone still in the dining hall glanced towards the sound. Surprise alighted on their faces before they realized that Hungary's scream sounded absolutely terrifying.

Instinctively, they darted down the hall that Hungary had gone.

"Hungary!" Seychelles shouted. The nations ran to the office, the doors already opened.

When they entered the office, all they saw was a traumatized Hungary being comforted by Austria and Prussia inspecting something on the ground. Perfectly normal. Except that Prussia wasn't bleeding from blunt force trauma, Hungary wasn't swooning, and Austria actually looked alarmed for a change.

"What's going on here?" Demanded Turkey.

The three looked up in surprise. Apparently they hadn't heard everyone running. Prussia hesitated, then said: "Look for yourself."

Turkey ventured forward, saw what Prussia was inspecting, and turned away.

"Is it…?" He asked slowly.

"Yeah. Bulgaria." Was Prussia's response.

Romania broke away and walked towards Prussia. He made an odd choked sound and kneeled down. The other nations gathered around. Gasped. Gaped.

Well, they finally found Bulgaria.

Romania's eyes became dull and his blood ran cold. He was much closer to Bulgaria than any of the others gathered. He looked at what was, rather, what had once been the personification of Bulgaria. Bulgaria was covered in blood—his own. A long dagger was embedded in his skin, directly through his heart. Several other knife wounds marked his skin. Dark coloring marred his features. And it was…wrong, it all seemed wrong. His normally fair skin was stained red, dried blood colored his military uniform. His mouth was opened slightly as if poised to scream. Blood dribbled out the side of it. His eyes were wide in fear. They showed something like disbelief in them. His bloodied hair clung limply to his face. He was cold as ice and just as stiff. He looked dead. He felt dead.

"I-I don't understand… Can nations even die?" Hungary still looked traumatized.

"Technically…," Lithuania began in a small voice.

Hungary turned to stare at the Baltic nation "What?"

Lithuania, frightened, continued. "We should be able to. We are in human form after all. I think it's because… we don't injure or age like humans, so we think that we are invincible."

The nations fell silent. They were immortal… but not invincible? It was a strange notion that they hadn't considered before. Lithuania fidgeted uncomfortably, staring at the floor to try and avoid the eyes that were boring into him.

"He's right," spoke up China. "There's no reason to say that nations cannot die."

"I suppose I just assumed…," Mumbled Hungary. "But then what happened to Rome and the others?"

"They died." Answered China evenly. "I would know."

"Died? But that's the same question. How did they die?" Questioned Austria.

China shrugged. "It was a slow process. I'm in Asia, so I really wouldn't know. I just know they died. Probably just disappeared one day."

"What about him?" Austria inquired, gesturing at Prussia.

China didn't answer and looked away. He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. When Austria looked pointedly at Prussia, Prussia looked away too. Everyone was silent for a while.

"In that case, what happens to Bulgaria? Bulgaria is still on the map, after all." Turkey spoke up.

"I assume that Bulgaria's somewhere else at the time." China answered vaguely.

"Care to elaborate, China?" Turkey said, looking frustrated.

China answered patiently "Well, there's most likely another Bulgaria wandering around right now. Just because the body dies, the nation doesn't necessarily die. But… judging from Bulgaria's wounds, he likely went through a lot of pain before dying."

…

For a while, they stood awkwardly in the office. Most of them were a little disturbed by the dead body, waiting for someone to suggest going back to the dining hall. No one spoke.

"Hm? What's this?" France asked no one in particular, as he bent over towards Bulgaria's dead body. He took Bulgaria's hand and removed a small note that Bulgaria had been clutching. The same one that Hungary had spotted; the same one that indicated something out of the ordinary. France unraveled the note with a puzzled expression.

"…It's a note." He murmured.

"Well, like, what does it say?" Asked Poland.

France was quiet, then gave the note to Poland and said "Read it for yourself."

Poland took it and read the loopy font—font that was exactly similar to that on the letter they had each received—out loud.

_Open a note, open your eyes._

_How does it go? Have fun; time flies?_

_You're in my world now. This is my game._

_Now I take a bow. This is your fate._

_You all allow. You're all to blame._

_You don't get it, do you? _

_It's too late._

_I'm one of you. I'm going to get each and every one of you._

_~Truth_

Poland looked disturbed. So did just about everyone else. He allowed the note to slip through his fingers and fall to the floor.

One Asian noticed something odd then. South Korea bent over and picked up the note Poland had dropped.

"Hey guys, I just noticed this—"

"Korea noticed something! Incredible!" Hong Kong gasped dramatically. No one laughed at his attempted humor.

"That was mean." Korea pouted.

"Who flips a shit? What were you just saying, Korea?" Said Monaco indifferently. France looked at her to reprimand her on her language, but she shrugged off his accusing look and turned to Korea.

"Anyway, on the back, there's a number and then it says 'Bulgaria.'" Declared Korea. "And then there's a bunch of other numbers… like a list…" Korea looked a bit frightened.

"This is stupid!" Seychelles exclaimed. "It's just some stupid Halloween joke! Do you really think one of us is crazy enough to just go kill someone else?"

Everyone looked pointedly at Russia for a moment and then Seychelles continued.

"It's just some joke, why are you all so—" She was cut off by a loud thunderclap.

The weather was certainly not helping everyone's moods.

"Seychelles is right." Spoke Switzerland. Others nodded in agreement.

Romania was still crouched over Bulgaria. "He looks so… dead…" He whispered. No one heard him. He remained in his crouched position as the others left. On her way out, Hungary shot him a look, but walked out of the abandoned office.

…

Back in the dining hall, the nations shuffled around anxiously.

"I guess we should go now…."

Australia scoffed. "You mean the only reason I came all the way here was because of some joke? Jeez, the bastard."

"You shouldn't speak so poorly of the dead." A voice floated from the dark hallway they had just abandoned.

"Oh god, Romania! Scare the shit out of us, whatever." Australia was startled by Romania's sudden appearance. "And he's not dead; it's just some dumb joke."

Romania said nothing.

The prospect of a nation actually dying must have shocked everyone, because no one spoke.

Norway spoke up. "Let's just get out of here." His expression remained stoic and unreadable.

"Yes, this house is rather… strange." Germany showed absolutely no signs of being scared compared to the Italian standing next to him. Italy cowered behind Germany, likely frightened of the storm, and the house … and the possibly dead Bulgaria. Every time thunder cracked he cried loudly and clutched Germany's arm. There were now several sob stains on Germany's uniform.

"What about Bulgaria?" Asked New Zealand, sounding far too innocent.

"We'll come back another time…or something. Whatever, he's obviously just trying to scare us. Probably laughing his ass off somewhere at us." Australia said bitterly. Australia seemed like the only one who wasn't uncomfortable with New Zealand. There was that whole issue with New Zealand's… gender.

With that said, America turned to the door to leave. Various pairs of feet followed towards the door, impatient to leave.

England was the first to notice that they were following America. _America. _

"Why the heck are we following America?" He exclaimed suddenly. He turned to said nation. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"…Absolutely none!"

America was promptly beaten to a pulp.

…

"Alright, now let's get out of here!" Denmark (who had taken part in beating up America) yelled.

And with that, the nations set off in the direction they assumed to be the main exit.

Nations really have no sense of direction. They did manage to find it… eventually.

The foyer was huge, and the ceiling was high. One giant sparkling chandelier hung off the ceiling, looking awfully unstable. Lightning lit up the night, and the storm raged on. With every bolt, the entire room was filled with light, and the bars on the window were highlighted. Shadows filled every corner, and every niche. It was incredible how much larger the mansion was on the inside. From the outside it was big, but from the inside it was immense. It was large and spacious, and even with all the nations gathered, it wasn't crowded.

"This place is giving me the creeps!" Piped up Latvia. He looked just as scared as Italy. Although that may have been because Russia was standing right behind him.

"Let's just get out of here." Murmured Lithuania.

And with that said, someone stepped forward and opened the doors.

Or at least, they tried to.

"What the hell are you doing? Open the damn door!" Shouted Cuba.

"…It won't open." America, who had been attempting to open it, looked confused.

"Bloody git." England muttered, but got an odd feeling. If America couldn't open it…. He walked over by and pulled the door handles hard. The door didn't budge in the slightest.

This was a problem. A frustrated air settled as everyone tried to open the door. It refused to open.

"What the fuck is this? Why won't the fucking door open!" Romano looked frustrated, and even more so when his brother tried to calm him.

"_This is my game… it's too late…_" Japan quietly recited lines.

"That's from that note we found, isn't it?" Switzerland said, already knowing the answer.

Japan nodded his confirmation. He felt a little put off now. It didn't seem real, but… the Bulgaria they just saw was most definitely dead. Combined with the note and the locked doors, there was a possibility that this wasn't a joke. It was frightening.

"Can't we just ram it down, or something?" America asked, shocking Japan out of his stupor.

"Those doors are reinforced with steel, it would never work." Romania said loudly to catch everyone's attention. "Let's face it. We're stuck here."

"Just how would you know?" Said Turkey testily. "Would you have anything to do with it?"

Romania opened his mouth to shoot back a denial and a clever remark, but was cut off by England. "Wait—who was the last one in?"

It was a good question, and an answer was sought—and then the small voice that belonged to New Zealand spoke up. "I was," New Zealand said, "But I didn't lock the door. I didn't even close it." New Zealand said this with a smile on … his/her face.

"…Alright." England didn't sound fully convinced.

But there was still the pressing matter at hand. What were they going to do if they couldn't get out?

"Let's just stay here." Japan suggested. "This house is huge. I'm sure there are rooms that we can sleep in or something. This place is unsettling, yes, but we can go nowhere else." His face looked impassive and unreadable, though it was hardly illuminated anyway.

Noticing this, Hungary said, "We should find some matches or something. I can't see a thing."

…

By the end of the night, they had scrounged the kitchen and found matches and candles. There was also an abundance of food, as it Bulgaria had been preparing for a siege or something. How strange…

And then there was another problem.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOMS?"

"I'm terribly sorry, but some of us will have to share." Japan said, returning from his exploration of the house. Romano and Italy followed behind, with Italy trying to calm his brother and Germany silently face-palming in the background.

"I don't mind sharing."

"… Ummm, actually New Zealand, you can have a room to yourself…"

"Well as long as I don't have to share with that jerk!"

"WHEN THE FUCK DID SEALAND GET HERE?"

"I followed you in, silly!"

"…"

"Well, so who's going to share?" Asked Japan after an uncomfortable silence.

Insanity ensued.

…

The nations finally managed to decide. …Well, something like that. Greece, Turkey, Spain, Prussia, France, Denmark, and Latvia were all unconscious.

Everyone else was tired. They went to various rooms, dragging the unconscious ones behind them.

All fell asleep. All except for one.

The storm raged on through the black of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 'kay, chapter 2 complete. Hurrah it's longer than the first :D **

**Okay, so a bunch of the characters that are in this story haven't been mentioned yet, I think. (Yeah and I didn't feel like listing who was rooming with who at the end. It's irrelevant for the most part.)**

**So, here's a list of everyone appearing in this fic, and sorry if a character you like isn't appearing, i didn't really want to do EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER WHO EXISTS. the only reason Romania's here is because my friend is obsessed with him. Same with Australia and New Zealand. Oh and about pairings, I'm going to try to not put any in here, but if you want to make some sort of request, I can try and incorporate them somewhere.**

**CHARACTERS:**

**Axis Powers**

**Allies**

**Canada**

**Spain**

**Romano**

**Hungary **

**Prussia**

**Austria**

**Romania**

**Monaco**

**Taiwan**

**South Korea**

**Hong Kong**

**The Nordics**

**Sealand**

**Seychelles**

**Liechtenstein**

**Switzerland**

**Turkey **

**Greece**

**Egypt**

**Poland**

**The Baltic Trio**

**Belarus**

**Ukraine**

**Belgium**

**Netherlands**

**Cuba**

**Australia**

**New Zealand**

**Bulgaria (HE'S DEAD :D)**


	3. First Kill

**_CHAPTER 3_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Step 3: First Kill<em>**

_ I may not be the truth, but I'm not a lie_

_ I am what I know you're hiding inside._

_The first is the worst, you all like to say_

_ Well I am different, I see it this way:_

_ It won't be the worst, and it won't be the one;_

_ The beginning is going to be the most fun._

* * *

><p>Hong Kong was surprised for a moment when he woke up. He had completely forgotten about all the events of yesterday. And so he was a little more than shocked when he awoke in a bed that was not his.<p>

And then he remembered that he was in Bulgaria's household. Yes that was right. He was in Bulgaria's castle but Bulgaria…. And they had been forced to spend the night. And he had gotten stuck with South Korea.

Thinking of South Korea, Hong Kong glanced over at the bed next to him. It was empty and made. He lay in an identical bed. The room was actually fairly spacious. Hong Kong sat up, yawned, and stretched. He then looked out the pathetic excuse for a window on his right. Through the bars he could see that the sun had already risen. Hong Kong sighed. He didn't usually sleep this late. And he definitely didn't wake up after Korea.

Hong Kong realized suddenly that he was hungry. He completely abandoned his previous train of thought and wondered what they were going to do for breakfast. They had found food last night and were most likely cooking some of it for breakfast.

He began to pull himself out of bed when China opened the door.

In a cheery, too-excited-for-the-morning voice, he said, "Hong Kong, Korea, we made some breakfast and—" China stopped midsentence.

Hong Kong gave him a questioning look. The elder nation looked disturbed. His wide, brown eyes held surprise and fear in them. Hong Kong noticed that China was quivering slightly. He followed China's gaze, which was directed at something above his head and behind him.

He saw then, what China was so disturbed by. He then decided something.

Hong Kong was not a morning person.

.

Iceland preferred the mornings, he really did. He liked sunrises. But waking up in an unfamiliar home with a bunch of other nations did dampen his mood a bit.

Norway lied in the bed to his left, still asleep. Norway usually woke up before him though….

Making a small sound of indifference, he got up, and walked out of the room. It was no problem; he had simply worn what he was wearing yesterday to bed. He trudged slowly down the stairs. They spiraled. It seemed odd that Bulgaria just happened to own a huge house that had bedrooms and three floors. It was too large, how was anyone going to find their way around this place? Whatever, it was his house; the man could do whatever he wanted.

He smelled something especially delicious as he walked down the hallways. He simply followed the smell until he came into the kitchen. The kitchen fit the house well. It was huge as well, with everything and anything necessary to feed an army.

France was cooking something. Whatever it was, it didn't look that bad.

Maybe France was good for some things.

Iceland was about to ask where everyone else was, when Ukraine walked in.

It really was hard not to stare at her chest.

But if she noticed she didn't show it. Instead she smiled at Iceland and told him that the others were in the dining hall.

France turned at her voice. "Ah, good morning Iceland!" He smiled brightly, as if he didn't care at all that they couldn't get out of the house and there was a likely dead nation a few hallways over. He then turned back to cooking.

Iceland didn't respond, rather, he kept an impassive expression. He wondered why Ukraine was helping France cook, because why would anyone want to be in a room alone with the pervert? But then he remembered that Ukraine was always so nice. And she cried a lot… And France probably asked her especially…because she had very…large…assets….

Iceland was not staring, mind you.

He turned and walked towards the dining hall. There he saw that many others were up as well. Small conversations were held, and overall it seemed pretty quiet. Must be because America wasn't up yet. He sat down at a very long table that somehow seemed like it would fit everyone.

Iceland was bored. He didn't mind being alone, there was just a severe lack of violence. It greatly amused him to watch Denmark get beat up by Norway. But both were currently absent. What a shame. So he contented himself with staring at the wall.

…

China burst into the dining room loudly. He was panting hard from running. He crouched over in fatigue and took a while to catch his breath. He looked perturbed.

"South Korea…" He looked as if he were about to hyperventilate.

"Something wrong, China?" Asked Lithuania, who rushed over to help China.

"Just…go to his room."

…

Iceland had forgotten that Hong Kong was sharing with South Korea. He was mildly surprised to find someone already in the room when he entered. But he didn't show any signs of being shocked. Hong Kong hadn't even noticed that Iceland had entered.

Hong Kong had turned around to see what had alarmed China.

He hadn't moved from the position.

South Korea hadn't woke up before him. South Korea was dead.

…

Taiwan was scared. Very scared. She had walked in with some other nations, to see what had happened to South Korea. She wanted to know what had provoked the 4000 year old nation so. And she found South Korea.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

South Korea was pinned to the wall behind Hong Kong directly above his head. When Hong Kong woke up, he wouldn't have seen the body hanging behind him. There was a long metal pole stuck right through where Korea's heart most likely was that lodged in the wall, pinning him. Taiwan recognized the pole from one of those cliché suits of armor always found in castles…. She had definitely seen some of those yesterday. His arms fell down limply at his sides. The area around the wound was a dark red. There were also multiple stabs in Korea's chest. Blood ran down the walls.

To the left of the gruesome spectacle was a message scrawled in messy, slanted handwriting. "He was only the first."

The message glinted in a glossy, scarlet color and trickled down the wall.

Taiwan ran out of the room to vomit.

…

"So…you think that it's not a joke?" England sat at the table with everyone else. They had all been woken up and made aware of the situation. Breakfast was long forgotten, and no one probably had the appetite anyway.

"It just seems so planned. How there are enough bedrooms—of all things. And how there's enough food for a siege. As if someone were planning our staying here." Said Hong Kong. While others were in some kind of shock, he remained stoical, refusing to show any emotions.

"It could still be a joke," Said Monaco. "Others could be in on it."

"That's one sick joke. I don't think you can fake death that good…." Whispered Taiwan. She had stopped crying a while ago. But the image was stuck in her head. South Korea had always pissed everyone off… but he didn't deserve that.

Silence overtook the nations (and Sealand, and Hong Kong, and Prussia). There was much to be said…. But no one spoke.

"Can't we get out of here somehow? Can we call someone or something?" Asked America.

"We've tried it already. We couldn't get a signal. It could've been knocked out by the storm, or we could just be in a bad location." Stated Germany.

"Is there nothing else? There's a freaking killer here and we're just sitting here!" Cuba exclaimed.

"I still think it's a joke." Said Monaco quietly.

"I don't think it's a joke. There's a killer and it's one of us! Remember that note!" Romania said, raising his voice.

"You seem so sure there's a killer, Romania." Austria pointed out. "For all we know, you could be it."

"Why would I kill Bulgaria?" Romania replied. He looked away and shook his head. Quietly he spoke. "He was my friend."

It was evident. They had all seen his reaction to Bulgaria's body. It wasn't likely that Romania would do that.

…

The conversation was dropped. Silent glances were exchanged, though, and it seemed like the game had finally begun.

One person was enjoying it all. One person who liked to be called Truth.

…

The conversation was forgotten. The topic was abandoned and everyone had dispersed.

"I wonder when it will be my turn to speak."

Canada was forgotten too.

…

Hong Kong returned to the room he had slept in last night. It was still around noon. He was very surprised to see that there was a short blonde in his room already.

Liechtenstein heard him come in. She turned around quickly in surprise, but calmed when she noticed it was him. "Ah, I'm sorry. I was just…" She trailed off, but gestured to what was Korea.

Hong Kong tilted his head in confusion. Why would Liechtenstein be here, of all people? Did she even know South Korea? And how on earth did she get away from her overprotective brother?

The small girl continued. "Brother didn't want me to see the body, but I was curious. I am not that terrified of gore, it's okay. I just thought that maybe someone should…move him, or something. You're going to have to sleep here again, right?"

Hong Kong still said nothing. But he noticed that she had made the assumption that they would stay here again tonight.

He helped her move the body from the wall. She looked so tiny and fragile; he wondered how on earth she would have been able to move it herself.

"Where should we move it?" He asked, finally saying something.

"I don't know…for now, let's just put it with Bulgaria's body." She responded.

And they lifted it. It was kind of gross. Hong Kong looked like he was going to be sick, and Liechtenstein looked a bit queasy too. It smelled. Blood did not smell that good. Liechtenstein was evidently more mature than she looked. They managed to reach the office where Bulgaria's body lay still, unmoved, without running into anybody.

The pair set the body next to Bulgaria. They stared at it for a while.

'I feel… like we should do something or something." Liechtenstein said. "I mean, they're just there, and it's so…" She trailed off, unable to find the words to say.

Hong Kong didn't really get what she was trying to convey, but he moved the bodies so that they lied parallel to each other.

"Perhaps later we can get Sweden to fashion coffins for them or something." He suggested. He knew that Sweden was good for things like that.

Liechtenstein brightened and thanked him. "I'm sorry to bother you… it was just something I wanted to do. I appreciate your help." She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks again, I'd love to talk to you some more, but I have to go. Brother has probably killed Austria by now." And she walked out of the room.

So that was how she got away from her brother, Hong Kong mused. He turned to exit, but was distracted by the note from yesterday that lay forgotten on the desk. He picked it up and reread it and then set it back down.

He left then, not bothering to look at the other side. The side with the multiple numbers. Next to the 1, Bulgaria's name was printed. Directly underneath it: "South Korea No. 2"

* * *

><p><strong>AN Okay, this was kinda a fail too. Random character appearances ftw. I really have no idea what to do for the next chapter. Who should I kill? hmmmmmmmm...**

**I'M SO SORRY ABOUT KILLING SOUTH KOREA. HE DIDN'T EVEN GET TO GROPE ANYONE. now I have to like, write him a oneshot or something. And I feel like I'm neglecting characters. I'm going to try and include all of them before I mercilessly kill them...**


	4. Guess

_**CHAPTER 4**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 4: Guess<strong>_

_The game in which everything's a guise._

_When you sell all your lies that nobody buys._

_I lost something long ago, something that I need._

_Something I once held, then something that I freed._

_As insanity immerses, the light turns into black._

_What I once had is too far gone, and I don't want it back._

* * *

><p>The day had been absolutely boring for New Zealand (other than the Korea incident). HeShe honestly did absolutely nothing. New Zealand had watched as everyone else laughed with each other, talked to each other, injured each other…. Poor New Zealand was so lonely. He/She didn't understand why everyone stayed away. Perhaps it was his/her smile? He/She knew that it occasionally creeped people out, and there was the problem with his/her gender but….

New Zealand sighed. He/She wanted to talk to someone. Where was Australia? New Zealand knew that Australia was one person that he/she could always talk to. They had shared a room last night and New Zealand knew that no one else would have. He/she scanned the crowded room, hoping to see his/her friend amongst the nations.

Australia was nowhere to be found.

Could it be that…?

New Zealand shook his/her head. Australia most certainly would not be killed. It was the middle of the day still. Would the killer strike at this time? Or just at night?

This morning, the nations had agreed that it would be safer if everyone stayed in the main hall for most of the day, and that no person should wander off alone. New Zealand wondered if anyone would help him/her find Australia. He/she looked around, but all the nations were busy, talking and yelling amongst themselves.

New Zealand just sighed and decided to go explore alone, and look for Australia.

Belgium couldn't find her brother. Anywhere.

She had roomed with him, and they had gone to breakfast together (which was interrupted by the incident with Korea). But somehow she had lost him. It was probably when she stopped to talk to Spain and Romano. She never was able to get them to get along.

She sighed.

Even if they pushed her around a lot, she loved her two brothers and they meant well. She worried a lot. Luxembourg had been unable to come and now she could not find Netherlands.

Belgium looked into another room. It looked similar to the previous, old-fashioned and neat, but ultimately empty.

Another sigh.

Where was she even going? Belgium looked around, realizing that she really had no clue where she was. Why did every hall have to look completely identical?

She continued on, but she was getting increasingly worried.

"Where are you…?" She murmured.

"Hm? Who's that?" Came a small cheery voice.

Belgium jumped in shock. She walked forward towards the voice and crashed into New Zealand as he/she rounded a corner. She fell back and hit the floor.

"Owww…"

New Zealand laughed at her predicament, having not fallen over him/herself, but stumbled back a bit. He/she extended a hand to help her up.

Belgium scowled, as she took the hand extended to her. But then she burst into fits of giggles at her own clumsiness. She couldn't stay mad at a person for more than a few seconds. It just wasn't her personality.

"So what are you doing?" New Zealand asked.

"I'm looking for my brother." She answered. She nearly squealed at New Zealand. She honestly didn't care if New Zealand's gender was ambiguous, or what others thought of him/her. She thought that New Zealand was cute, and she felt like he/she seemed lonely.

"Ah, I'm looking for Australia." New Zealand said with a cute smile. "Why don't we look together?"

Belgium let out a small squeal this time, and when New Zealand looked at her in question, she blushed. "Sorry, New Zealand, you're so cute! I would love to look together!"

New Zealand's face turned pink at her comment, and was delighted that she wasn't disturbed by him/her.

"Onward!" She exclaimed, pointing dramatically down the hall.

So they went.

…

An hour later, they returned to the main hall, with no success. Neither Australia or Netherlands were found there.

Belgium's worry increased. She turned to New Zealand anxiously.

"We haven't found either of them!" She wailed.

"It's okay; maybe someone else has seen them." New Zealand soothed, though he/she was distressed as well.

Belgium nodded, and the pair asked around.

The Nordics were gathered together, and New Zealand asked them if they had seen the missing nations.

"Nope we haven't seen them!" Denmark exclaimed.

New Zealand looked like he/she was going to have a headache. Denmark sounded far too enthusiastic.

Norway felt the same way, but reacted differently.

"You're so loud, idiot." And he started to hit Denmark. Hard.

Iceland, who had looked bored, now looked up in interest at the new affair. He seemed greatly entertained by the acts of violence.

Finland and Sweden weren't much help either. "…Sorry, but no, I'm afraid we haven't seen them." Finland said, while Sweden merely grunted in agreement. The tall nation towered over them in an intimidating manner.

"Um, well, sorry for bothering you, um, we're going to go now."

Belgium and New Zealand walked away slowly.

…

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen either of them…" Hungary responded when they asked her. She was arguing with Prussia and standing next to Austria, who looked indifferent as she argued.

Austria was bored. He really had nothing better to do. His fingers ached to play a piano. There must have been one somewhere around here...

He was curious when New Zealand and Belgium approached his group.

"Did you check the—" He was about to suggest a place for them to look, but was interrupted by a voice.

"There is another victim." It was the voice of Egypt.

New Zealand's and Belgium's eyes widened simultaneously. They met each other's eyes.

Austria observed them, then turned to Egypt. "Who?" He inquired.

"Come and see." Egypt said calmly. He walked out the door.

Belgium tore out after him and New Zealand wasn't far behind.

Everyone else in the room followed.

…

It wasn't Netherlands.

…

Belgium's brother was leaning against the wall watching people flow into the office. It was the office in which there were now three bodies rather than two. He stayed back while they looked at the body on the floor.

His sister was one of the first to come in and she had thrown herself at him when she saw him. He did nothing, but let her hug him. At least she wasn't crying. At the moment, Belgium was comforting another nation, presumably New Zealand. The smaller character sobbed into Belgium's uniform. The nation of the Netherlands remained stoic through the episode. His fingers twitched, aching for something to smoke. He just wanted to make sure that his sister was alright. She looked relieved when she saw him, but guilty when she looked at New Zealand.

New Zealand didn't want to look at the body. He/She knew that it would probably be pretty brutal. And likely gory. So the distressed nation buried its head in Belgium's shoulder.

While one nation didn't observe the body, another inspected it.

Austria crouched down and did his best not to be disgusted by the corpse. It was disgusting, it really was. But it might help him in figuring out who the killer was. Austria was smart. Sensible. He knew that something was up, and he was determined to figure it out.

Australia's death was…cleaner, to say, than South Korea's.

A bullet hole in his forehead. Well, a gunshot was certainly cleaner than a stab wound.

The body lied parallel to the other two. Australia's hands were crossed over his chest in a funeral type position. Around the wound in his head, a bright red 3 was written in fresh blood. Technically the third kill, but only the second since they had entered the mansion.

But something was off. One would've thought that a gunshot would've been heard. Even in this giant place. It vexed Austria. He hadn't heard anything, and it seemed that no one else had either. If the gun was a special type, or had some kind of silencer…

Meanwhile, New Zealand had calmed down. New Zealand took a look at the body, then walked out. Others were still coming in and guessed who the next victim was by New Zealand's expression.

It was a really large office. Belgium had never noticed it before, but it was pretty large if it fit everyone inside. Her eyes wandered around it. Bookshelves lined the walls and stretched almost to the ceiling. Bulgaria's desk was large and was in the center of the office. The carpet had a beautiful design, but was stained red in some places.

Belgium came over to talk to her brother as everyone else got a look at the body of Australia.

"I was looking for you," She murmured. "We were. New Zealand and I. He…or she…was looking for Australia and I was looking for you. We decided to look together and then Egypt said there was a victim and then I thought it might be you…or…Australia, but then it wasn't you and I just felt so bad for the little kid." She wasn't crying, but buried her head in his coat.

The Netherlands awkwardly raised his arms to hug her back.

"Ned…" She started, using that old pet name that he thought he'd never hear her say ever again. "I think it's a good thing that Luxembourg couldn't come…We're not safe are we?"

He was silent, but it was answer enough for her.

…

"So…it was death by gun, right? Well, who's got a gun?"

Austria sighed. "It's just not that simple, Prussia. The killer wouldn't be that stupid. They would probably not openly have the gun. It was also a special type of gun, but where could one get a gun like that…?" Austria trailed off.

Prussia opened his mouth to say something stupid, but was interrupted by Germany.

"Well, there's a point. We should gather everyone's weapons. If there is a killer and it is one of us, then we need to _do_ something. We can at least start by getting rid of our weapons."

No one moved. "Why? What if we need to protect ourselves? And if we get them all together, how do we know that everyone's not hiding some? And what would we do with all of them, anyway?" England looked irritated.

Because New Zealand was not the only one distraught about Australia's death.

"Would it be better to do nothing then?" Germany asked, irritated.

No one spoke. But no one moved.

"What were you doing in the office, Egypt?" Austria suddenly asked.

"Trying to solve it, aren't you?" Turkey chuckled. "Or just trying to place the blame?"

Austria looked offended.

"I was with Turkey," Egypt said calmly. "We were not the ones to find the body. He was." And he inclined his head towards the Netherlands.

"You were alone?" Austria interrogated. "How did you find it."

"Bored. So I went to inspect the other body. Find something else." The Netherlands was tall. And intimidating. And smart.

Austria was suspicious.

"Hm. Speaking of finding bodies, what about her?" Netherlands gestured at Hungary. "Or him?" A gesture at Hong Kong. "She found the first one and he slept in the same room as Korea. You'd think that one would wake up if someone was killed in their room."

It was an accusation and everyone knew it.

Hungary reacted first.

"I wouldn't." She growled, and took a step towards Netherlands. Her tone was threatening and Prussia pulled her back.

"She didn't do it, Netherlands. Me and the aristocrat were with her when she found the body." Prussia hissed.

"As much as I hate Hungary…I don't think that she would've done something like this." Hungary immediately turned towards the sound. Romania's voice was clear and reasonable. "And I don't think little Asia over here did it either." He pointed at Hong Kong.

Hong Kong looked offended. "Little Asia?" He seethed.

China spoke up. "Hong Kong wouldn't, fool! Not my little brother! Why would he kill South Korea anyway? Just because Korea pissed off some people…" China rambled off, letting a few of his signature 'aru's out.

The Netherlands didn't look convinced, but it was difficult to tell because he rarely showed anything other than indignation.

No one looked convinced actually.

…

So nothing was done, and the nations realized it was getting late.

Suspicions were high that night. Dinner was made and shared, but conversation seemed forced and fake.

…

Something sinister followed Austria upstairs that night. He felt it and it put him off. But he was still determined to solve this mystery.

He didn't share a room. But he didn't let his fears cloud his better judgment. He couldn't trust anyone. Not now.

And so Austria snuck out of his room that night.

He crept down the halls, which were only illuminated by the moon through the bars on the windows. Shadows danced in every corner and niche. Clouds floated up in the night sky, blocking the moon's light every now and then. Austria walked on in darkness.

He was going to find this killer.

The killer found him instead.

…

Austria heard the sound of a door being opened, something behind him. He turned towards the noise.

Nothing.

Austria trembled. He didn't even have a weapon on him.

And then someone spoke.

From the end of the hallway, shrouded in shadows, a voice floated out.

"Silly, Austria, you're not going to find anything. You're certainly not going to solve anything."

Austria turned towards the voice, too late.

A blur came towards him and a sharp object pierced him.

"Silly, silly, Austria. I'm afraid you're too smart. I'm sorry, but I have to kill you. I can't let anyone figure out who I am." Out of the shadows came someone Austria thought he knew. The stature and face were too familiar, but the smirk shot at him was psychopathic.

Austria tried to say something. Unfortunately he couldn't.

The sword in his neck pierced deeper, then going clean through. A cold hand held him, preventing him from slipping to the floor.

The figure smirked at him. Austria recognized it. But it was too late.

The hand that was steadying him let go and crimson colored the floor as Austria fell.

And the last thing he saw was the crazed glint in the killer's eyes.

…

"Hm. What a shame. Ah well, truth had to do something."

A silhouette was framed by moonlight and shadows. The character grinned and chuckled.

"I'm so excited. This guessing game is going to be so much fun."

And the moon rose higher in the sky.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Well, that was fun. Y****es i did have fun killing Austria... I was originally going to have a piano fall on him...**

**And if you noticed, it may remind you of "And then there were none." I can't say it was loosely based off of it, but it was certainly an inspiration. I haven't actually read the whole book. **

**Also, updates will probably be weekly. And there will be more random character interactions. I don't want to neglect any characters [before I kill them off]. Yeah, New Zealand... well, its gender is intentionally ambiguous, so I just said he/she. sorry. **

**LEND ME YOUR WONDERFUL SUGGESTIONS. :D**

**Although I won't take death requests...THEY'RE ALL GOING TO DIE ANYWAY. I just gotta be creative.**


	5. Secrets

**_CHAPTER 5_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 5: Secrets<strong>_

_You don't know, and nor do I_

_But I say so, and you shall die._

_Change your mind in the darkened haze._

_Step into the light from the morning daze._

_Change all that you might have been,_

_To survive, you hide your sin._

* * *

><p>England was having an odd sense of déjà vu.<p>

Hungary was screaming again.

He hoped that it didn't mean what he thought it did. Another body would be awfully troublesome. And there were things that he couldn't let Sealand see. His little brother was loud and brash. England couldn't have stopped the boy from seeing Bulgaria's body because Sealand wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place. He had probably snuck in, knowing that only certain nations were invited.

Sealand was going to be a problem.

Even if his little brother irritated him, England did care about what happened to him.

He sighed and sat up. Hungary's scream served as a pretty good alarm. He glanced across the room, at his brother. He had roomed with Sealand, grudgingly, though. They hadn't wanted to room with each other, but England felt it would be better, because they were brothers, and he needed to keep a watchful eye on the boy.

Sealand was awakened by the scream too. He was rubbing his eyes in a comical manner, and yawning.

England quickly got up, and headed out before Sealand to see what was up.

Well, his fears were confirmed.

And this spectacle was…worse than the others.

Austria was the latest victim it seemed, and not killed mercifully.

Violet, unseeing eyes were wide. They shone with permanent fear, frozen and dulled.

Blood tainted the hall. Some was spattered on the walls, while the floor around the body was dark red, blotting out the fancy design on the carpet. Swirls of red covered the previous patterns, and blood set irregular decorations on the wall. Fresh blood still pooled around the body. Around the large, gaping wound in Austria's neck.

It looked terrible. Slimy, bloodied strips of skin still connected the head to the neck, as if the killer had tried to decapitate Austria, but didn't stab all the way through. Probably what had happened, actually.

Veins seeped red out of the neck. Blood tarnished Austria's once nice clothes.

England gagged. There was so much blood. A small puddle of red, right in the middle of the hallway.

Bile rose to his throat, and he ran to the nearest room to be sick. He emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl of the closest bathroom. It tasted terrible.

He sighed. He hadn't even had breakfast.

…

Ukraine wasn't afraid of blood. It was difficult for someone like her to be afraid of blood. That dark, red color stained her before Russia or Belarus.

As the eldest, she took the responsibility. To protect them. Sure she was a crybaby, and maybe it turned out that her siblings didn't need her, but this was something else. It was long ago that she accepted the job. Anything, she'd give for them. She'd seen Russia and Belarus bloodied and hurt enough. To help them.

Even if they didn't know she was helping them.

They came before anyone else.

So she stood before Austria's dead sliced body, and she remained calm. It was horrifying.

She did not cry. Not now. Not when she had to protect _them_. She trembled, but made no noise.

And then she felt something red and burning in her when her siblings shot her a worried look. They cared, but she couldn't have them worrying about her.

That just wouldn't do.

She turned on her heel and walked away from the slowly forming crowd around the body because there was a different red burning in the backs of her eyes.

…

England had trouble keeping Sealand from seeing it this time. The boy was too persistent.

"You idiot! You don't want to see!" He yelled at the boy trying to push past him.

England moved again to block Sealand's path. "Shut up! You can't tell me what to do, dumb old man!" They were gaining the attention of others, but no one tried to help England or Sealand.

His curiosity always got the better of him and he finally darted around the British nation.

He realized shortly after why England had not wanted him to see it.

Unknowingly, he imitated England and vomited in the same exact toilet bowl.

…

"Jeez, Hungary, your screams will kill us all one day." Prussia woke up to a lovely surprise of a screaming female nation right outside his bedroom door. Well, his and Germany's. Or maybe he should say his, Germany's and Italy's. Italy had this odd habit of ending up in Germany's bed every morning. When Prussia questioned Germany about it, he just said that Italy got scared all the time and stuff.

"I was having an awesome dream about—"

…

Germany was now wondering why Prussia was unconscious outside of his room. He awoke before Prussia, but it took him sometime to pry Italy off of him.

He looked up and saw Hungary, who was crying with her head in her hands. Looked back down at Prussia. Then at the frying pan in her hand.

Well that explained everything.

…

Italy latched himself onto Germany.

"Ve, what are we going to do today, Germany?"

Germany sighed. Italy truly was difficult to deal with. The country didn't really have a clue, did he? The only way this could possibly get worse was if—

"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, POTATO BASTARD!" Oh look, Romano was up. "Why do you insist on leaving the room every night, idiot?" He was now hitting his brother.

Italy burst into tears and started shouting in rapid Italian. Romano yelled right back. Much cursing ensued.

Germany didn't really feel like trying to calm them. Instead, he stood back and watched the chaos unfold. Neither brother had noticed the body.

Ignorance is bliss, they always say. And these two must be in heaven.

"Romano!" Spain appeared out of nowhere and Romano screamed a very feminine sounding scream. He leapt away from his brother and ran quickly in the opposite direction of Spain, who followed him.

Italy turned back to Germany. Germany told him to go after his brother, to wherever everyone else was.

"I'd rather stay with you!" He exclaimed.

"Italy. They're making breakfast right now. Why don't you go make some pasta?"

Italy was quick on his feet away.

Germany shook his head at the man's idiocy. With Italy gone, Germany spent some time examining the body. Everyone else was gone already to the main hall for breakfast, or was still asleep. Nobody volunteered to move the body and nobody stayed to help clean up the mess. Germany simply crouched down and stared at it.

Prussia was still unconscious on the floor. Germany didn't even attempt to wake Prussia to tell him about Austria's death. He'd wake up soon enough.

Germany walked away leaving his brother next to the body of a man he knew.

…

Prussia looked uncomfortable. First Hungary's screaming woke him up, then he found Austria's dead body right outside his door.

The albino kneeled on the floor silently. He was silent inspecting the body.

"Specs, huh? Now what happens next?"

He picked up Austria's glasses which lay a little off to the side and placed them over dull violet eyes.

…

Tension was high.

Italy, as usual, was being completely ignorant of the looming danger. He enthusiastically chatted and cooked pasta. As usual.

He seemed completely unaware of the mood.

He wouldn't notice that New Zealand had lost all emotion and instead glared at anyone who approached him or her. Even Belgium was turned away. Italy wouldn't notice Belgium's troubled looks or worrisome glances at her brother. Nor would he notice the sneaking glances and glares at everyone that emanated from said brother. He wouldn't understand why Hong Kong looked guilty or why Hungary wouldn't smile.

And so, the oblivious Italian did not notice France's hand creeping up his shirt as he talked.

"So Italy," France said, cutting off Italy, who was saying something about pasta being the answer to life, the universe, and everything. "Would you like to—OW!"

England, who happened to notice Italy's predicament, hit France with the book he was reading. Which may or may not have been an encyclopedia.

"Must you always grope people in the worst of situations, frog?" England glared at France.

"I was merely expressing my extreme feelings of love and companionship to Italy." France

England snorted. "Yeah. Sure you were. And how exactly is rape a show of love and companionship?"

"Lighten up, England. We are all friends here." France spread his arms in a gesture to indicate everyone around.

"Not you and I, France. Not now, not ever." England looked absolutely pissed about something. But France was always the best at irritating England.

"Oh, we don't have to be." France leered.

England retaliated by hitting France with his book again.

"What have I done to you?" He whined.

"Enough."

"You're sour, England. Why can't we all just be friends?" France seemed to be just toying with England, with an amazing ability to anger the already pissed off nation.

"Go fuck yourself, you pervert. Can't you understand the situation we're in?" Then, in a quieter voice, he said, "Maybe you'll be next."

France heard the whispered words, and gave England a look.

"Don't say that." He hissed.

"Don't say what? That you'll die? What does it matter? We're all going to die anyways! For all I know it could be you! You never particularly cared for anyone anyways."

England's raised voice caught the attention of the others in the room.

France lowered his voice to respond. "Shut up. Not me, England."

"Oh but what does it matter to you? You wouldn't care about the situation. You'd rather just fuck and move on!" England looked a bit crazed. France wondered for a moment if he was drunk. "You never were able to handle serious situations, France. You're just an ass who's going to die here." Or maybe he was just being pessimistic again.

"You—"

"SHUT UP!" Seychelles looked livid. She had been reading a book with Monaco, which may or may not have been about the history of Seychelles, that she had found in the mansion's library, but could not concentrate with the two nations bickering. She stood up, leaving her book, and marched over to England and France. "I'm sick of you arguing—especially here of all places! Now is not the time. If you assholes could shut up for long enough, maybe we could all figure something out! You two can't just argue all the time! God, are you drunk or something?"

England and France said nothing, but turned away from each other. Both looked annoyed. It was clear that no progress was going to be made between the two.

"Not my fault the frog's a perverted idiot." England muttered.

"Get over yourself, England." France retorted, and walked away.

In a huff, England imitated him, strutting away in the opposite direction.

Seychelles shook her head, muttering. "Those two are hopeless. Why was I raised by idiots?" Then she turned to Monaco, who had followed her. "Go after France, would you? If I go, he'll probably try to rape me. Sex is his answer to everything. Everything." Then she set off after England.

Monaco nodded and obeyed.

…

"France you really have to stop." Monaco stood in front of France, shaking her head.

France was a few rooms over, in the kitchen. It hadn't taken long for Monaco to find him.

"You ought to stop nagging, Monaco. You act like a mother to me." He chided, smiling at her. France wouldn't have tried anything on Monaco. She was different.

"She's right, France, you can be really immature sometimes." Someone said. Someone who wasn't Monaco.

"Oh, Canada, when did you get here?" Monaco looked mildly surprised. She was smart enough to know the difference between Canada and America. The two were strikingly similar, but the sound difference and level of obnoxiousness in their voices was enough of a giveaway.

"I followed you here." Canada replied.

Monaco looked slightly ashamed for a moment.

"Well, anyway, tell France he needs to stop being an ass for long enough for us to figure some way out of here." She turned back to France. "Really France, have you forgotten where we are. Why you were arguing, Seychelles and I were trying to find a way out of here. It's clear that those doors won't open, and any other exits have been sealed or something. We can't go out a window, and we can't call anyone from here. And then there's that killer." Monaco didn't look like she had anything to say about that.

In his quiet voice, Canada spoke up. "If you all didn't argue so much, maybe we'd be able to do something about the problem."

France sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I just lost my temper for a moment. I shouldn't have gotten so mad. I blame the lack of love."

Monaco and Canada both knew that love was just a euphemism. But they smiled at him because this was probably the best response they were going to get.

Then France looked at the two of them. "But I still don't trust him. I do understand the situation; better than everyone thinks."

Monaco shrugged. "It's okay, we can take care of ourselves. And don't be worrying about Seychelles, she already went after England. She was afraid you'd grope her again." She smiled at the look on France's face. Then she changed the subject, "Meh, let's not go back yet. How have you been Canada?"

…

Ukraine looked troubled. She was watching her siblings. As usual, Russia was harassing the Baltic States, and Belarus was harassing Russia.

Where did she go wrong?

She was distracted from her siblings by the arguing between France and England. She watched it go on with slight amusement on her face.

She was really lonely, wasn't she?

The day passed by with little excitement. She couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

So, feeling lonely, she made her way over to Hungary, who still looked shaken from the morning's events. Hungary seemed to be pretty good at finding dead bodies.

Nervously, Ukraine asked, "Ah, are you okay, Hungary?"

Hungary smiled at her. "I'm fine, don't worry. I was a bit shaken this morning, though. Thanks for asking. And you? How are you doing in all this?"

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm kind of scared about everything; I really just want to make sure that everyone will be alright." Ukraine looked pleased at having someone to talk to. "Do you have any thoughts about what we're going to do? I mean, I know it's awkward asking, but it's… real, you know? I don't get the feeling that this is some kind of joke. It scares me more than I let on, honestly. Like, what if one of my siblings are next, or someone I care about?"

"Yeah, I think we're all a bit messed up. I'm just…I don't know. I don't want to trust anyone. I hope that we can find a way out of here as soon as possible with no one getting hurt. But I'm not stupid. Someone will die next, and I can only hope it's not me. Or you, or someone I care for. But then I'd feel so guilty if it was someone else." Hungary let out a deep sigh and buried her head in her hands. "What are we going to do, Ukraine?"

At that moment, Prussia came over. His eyes were redder than usual. "Go find your siblings, Ukraine. Make sure that they're okay."

Ukraine noticed that Hungary was shaking a little and she understood the underlying message in Prussia's words.

She left to go find her brother and sister.

…

She was successful in finding her siblings, somewhat….

Well, she stopped trying to prevent Belarus from killing Lithuania after the fourth time. Poland was there after all. And she couldn't exactly find Russia, although she did hear China screaming a lot. And Korea was already dead.

At the moment, she was occupied with something else.

As she was walking down the halls, she heard hushed voices coming from one of the rooms. Creeping closer, she identified one voice as Seychelles. That girl had a loud, distinct voice. The other she couldn't place.

"This is hopeless, Monaco," Oh so it was Monaco. "We just can't find a way out of here!"

Ukraine stood by the door. It was closed, but she could still make out words inside.

"We haven't even looked through this whole place. We have to keep looking. I'm convinced that this isn't a joke anymore. I don't want anyone important to me to get hurt."

Why were they looking for a way out? She supposed that it's natural that they would, but Ukraine wondered why they were so hushed about it.

"…France and England were arguing. Everyone is going to lose it here. Of course, they always argue, but I've seen the others. They're always sneaking glances and whispering to each other. I'm not paranoid, but I don't want to trust anyone. This isn't right. I mean, how long have we even been here? And I feel like this? What if it's you next? Or me? Or France, or England?" Seychelles sounded frustrated. Ukraine pictured the girl frowning.

"You can't lose it. Not now. We're all a bit paranoid. I'm worried too. I'm just better at appearing calm than others. Can you imagine what would happen if Russia was killed? Belarus would try and kill us all. She's already crazy. Her brother's crazy! At least, Ukraine's not crazy."

Ukraine almost chuckled. She always appeared saner when compared to the rest of her family.

Monaco continued. "We cannot afford to give up now. You're just going to have to have faith for now. Come on, let's just keep looking. I sent Canada to go look too. Practically no one sees him, and I trust him."

Ukraine wondered if they'd be successful in their search. Then she panicked. Someone was coming. Quickly, and as quietly as she could, she ran away down the hall.

The two inside the room hadn't noticed her at all.

…

That night was calm. No thunderstorms. Just silence.

Someone was up. Someone was enjoying the pure silence of the perpetual darkness.

Someone crept back into their bed that night with a bloodied knife and a nonexistent shadow framed by a moonless sky.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I am really sorry that this is a bit late. I was pretty sick, so this is also kinda rushed. whoops. I'm not one of those people who can just sit for an hour an write 1000 words. That are good. I SHALL TRY HARDER!**

**And I know, some characters have been neglected, I'll definitely do some others in future chapters. Terribly sorry about that.**

**:D you guys are so awesome. Your reviews make me laugh.**


	6. Deceive

**_CHAPTER 6_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 6: Deceive<strong>_

_If we all were perfect, and we all stood out;_

_If we all fit in, and we didn't doubt._

_You have to decide and you have to betray_

_You won't be able to solve it your way._

_The clock hands are running, but we can still try._

_But with false motivation, we lie down and die._

* * *

><p>Bare sunlight broke through the small windows as dawn broke. It fell across the floor and graced the sheets. The patterned wallpaper was illuminated by the light. Sunrays fell on a small nation's face, waking him up.<p>

Latvia thought that the pink yellow color was too happy. Happy was something he wasn't. Nor was he brave, rude, or self-confident. He wasn't innocent either.

Struggling out of bed, Latvia felt a little lonely. He used to share a bed with Estonia and Lithuania before they came here. But here, he slept alone, with Estonia's bed on the other side of the room and Lithuania in the room next door with Poland. So he wasn't completely alone. Then again, Russia was in another room somewhere close.

Latvia shivered.

The small boy let out a large yawn. He opened the door, walked out, then closed it behind him softly, being careful not to wake the room's other occupant.

He set off down the hallway that was all too similar to the rest of the hallways, towards the staircase. The house was actually only two stories, but it was wide and spacious. It was also likely there was an attic or basement. But some doors were locked or stuck, and no one seemed to know their way around this house anyway. No one was ever able to find anything. And it was obvious they'd been looking.

Latvia knew where he was headed, and was about to go down the stairs, but saw a small window at the end of the hallway. Silently, he ventured over to it. It was narrow, like the others, although, someone with a small frame like him could probably squeeze through, and overlaid with bars. The bars prevented him from touching the window with anything except for his hands. Latvia noticed that the bars were horizontal. The bars on the window in his room were vertical. Latvia poked his hand through them to touch the cool glass on the other side. He stared at the bars for a bit, then dismissed them as nothing out of the ordinary. But he made a note to look at the other windows later on.

He arrived at his destination—the kitchen—a short while later. He started looking.

The kitchen was big, looked professional, connected to the dining hall through a door, and had a couple of windows. Latvia noted that the bars were vertical. It took Latvia some time to scan all of it. He wasn't hungry, but there was something else he wanted. He had been alcohol-deprived since he came here, and he was thirsty. No, he didn't drink all the time, but his looks were quite deceiving.

Latvia frowned. He hadn't found anything. Which was odd. There was always some sort of alcoholic beverage somewhere. And this huge mansion had to have something. He would've drunk anything too, well, anything but Russia's vodka. Feeling frustrated, he left the kitchen. Others would be awake soon, and some probably already were. He sighed. He'd look again tomorrow.

…

Japan was an early riser. Normally he would wake up, get up, and go through his daily rituals. Today, Japan didn't. There was no need to get up immediately, and there was nothing to be done. So, he lay in the bed, which was not his, and stared dully at the ceiling above him.

Japan had remained calm through the entire time. He had always found it better to act calm than to panic. Panic was useless and a detrimental emotion. While the others had begun to fear and worry, he said nothing.

Uncharacteristically, he glared at the ceiling. And then he realized he was glaring. His eyes turned dull again, and stoical. It was always too hard for him to convey his emotions.

Japan got up in no rush. He was certainly glad to have not roomed with another person. He had been quick to grab a room before someone else could have tried to share with him.

He finally left the room a while later.

…

Monaco blinked back hot tears.

France stood by her, having decided to wake her up, because he obviously didn't have a clue as to what privacy was. And he was staring down at her with sorrowful eyes and he was whispering apologies she didn't want to hear. And she felt scared and she wasn't moving, and for once she was grateful for France's company.

Monaco felt something wet roll down her face, but she didn't make a motion to wipe her tears because France was already on that with a gentle hand to her face and murmured words she didn't understand.

Something dripped on her pillow. Monaco didn't need her glasses to read what was written in red on her ceiling, and she already knew that it was written in the blood of the person in the bed just a few feet away.

…

"Still think France is the killer, England?" Japan asked in a monotone voice. The news got around quick enough after he got up, and Japan made his way over to the scene.

England didn't respond. Japan knew the comment was rude and uncalled for, but he said it anyway. He got sick of everyone sometimes. One was only quiet for so long. But England would have been bothered by Seychelles's death too.

Japan chastised himself.

He filled in with some others to see what happened. Apparently, Seychelles was the next victim.

There was a knife wound in the stomach, and another in her chest, both were dying the sheets a reddish brownish color as they dried. The wounds were a similar dark color, and the blood had turned her shirt red. One of her arms hung off the bed and the other lay by her side. Both were sliced up and covered in blood. Scarlet was dripping on the floor.

The girl's once bright eyes were opaque and clouded. Her face showed agony. Her mouth was open in a last scream that would never be heard.

Monaco looked traumatized over on the other side of the room. She was still lying down on her bed. France stood by her, with a melancholic expression, looking at Seychelles. Japan noticed Monaco staring at the ceiling. Japan thought she looked different without her glasses and braid. He followed her intense gaze. Her eyes were fixated on some writing on the ceiling.

The killer really did have an affinity for blood. All that was written was a red 5. The fifth kill. But it did seem odd that someone would be able to write a large five right over Monaco without waking her. It was still dripping.

Although, there was something off about the five. It was drawn all oddly, with staggered lines and it faced away from Monaco so that it would be upside down when she looked at it.

Japan averted his gaze and left the room.

…

"You're quiet, jackass." Romano stared at Spain. He was actually quite pleased that Spain had shut up for a bit.

"Oh, I guess, well, she…she was a nice person…" Spain was staring at the body of Seychelles. He didn't know Seychelles personally, but he knew she was a good girl and France had always been fond of her. He looked over at his friend, who was standing next to Monaco. Monaco had finally sat up and put her glasses on, and was currently arranging her hair into a single side braid.

Romano scoffed and stared indifferently at the spectacle.

Spain knew better than to assume that Romano felt nothing. Most likely, Romano was just trying to appear as if he didn't care.

The Italian gave Spain a look, as if about to ask something. Spain smiled at him.

"I'm leaving." Romano mumbled. Then he turned and walked out the door.

Spain didn't follow him, but went over to stand by France. Romano looked relieved.

He aimlessly wandered the halls, having lost his appetite. Romano, like everyone else, easily became lost in the large mansion and numerous halls. He didn't care though; he was bound to run into someone eventually. He walked slowly, without a purpose or destination. He came to a staircase, and went up, Seychelles's room having been on the first floor. On the second floor he wandered even more, until he reached a certain window, at the end of a hallway.

Lazily, he stared out of it. There really wasn't much to see. Trees for a long way, and a light blue sky. Pretty peaceful, considering there was a thunderstorm just a few days ago. It really hadn't been that long, had it? Three nights? Romano hadn't slept much in those past three nights. Romano couldn't see out the window very well, but he at least noticed that the second floor was much higher up than it seemed. Tall house.

Turning away, he wondered if there was a clock anywhere. He didn't have his watch on him. Romano nonchalantly poked his fingers through the horizontal bars to tap the glass on the other side.

He fiddled with one of the bars on the window. It felt a bit loose. Romano found he could twist it a little. He idly spun it. Then, he heard a quiet sound, like a click. His hands roamed the side of the window, in the interstice between the glass and the bars. His fingers brushed over an irregularity in the wall. Whatever it was, he grasped it and pulled on it.

He pulled his hand back to observe a small key that glinted in the sunlight.

He put it in his breast pocket.

…

Romano turned a corner and stumbled into someone. He felt the odd fabric of a scarf and looked up at the person he'd walked into.

"Watch where you're going, bastard!"

Netherlands looked slightly surprised to see him. He ignored Romano's remark because he needed to ask the Italian something.

"Have you seen my sister? And where's Spain? Isn't he with you all the time?" Netherlands asked indifferently.

"Belgium? No, I was actually looking for her too." And he was. He got pretty bored with wandering around. "I managed to get rid of Spain a while ago." Romano wondered for a moment if Spain was still comforting his French friend. "Why do you—Hey is that an apple?"

Netherlands took another bite out of the large, red apple in his hands. Then he walked past Romano. "Well, if you don't know where my sister is, you're of no use to me. I can't find her. I was hoping she'd be with you or Spain, but she could also be off with some other girls or something. Oh, and if you wanted an apple, there aren't any left."

He left Romano speechless, because that had to be the most words Netherlands had said in one conversation. Ever.

Still shocked, Romano briskly turned and walked on.

The key felt heavy in his pocket. Romano didn't know to which door the key belonged. And he didn't know if the key was important yet. But for whatever reason, he didn't show it to anyone.

…

Monaco had seemingly recovered.

Japan stared at her with cloudy eyes, as she held onto France like a child. For one moment, Japan felt nostalgic, because she was still young, but already she didn't need France to guide her. And then, with one slice of a blade, that was shattered, and Monaco was reduced to a shy, naïve child, clinging to her brother.

Japan was content with solitude.

The quiet man surveyed the people around him. Most had gathered in the main dining hall, which was now the area that people came when there was nothing to do, England and France were naturally somber about Seychelles. But while France silently mourned with Monaco and that country whose name Japan can't recall, England was being pestered by another blond-brown-haired nation. America couldn't sense a mood, and it's something Japan disliked about him. The nation was young and brash, and still had a lot to learn.

To his left, he saw the Nordics, who must have been the most dysfunctional group he'd ever seen. Besides the former Allies…. Denmark was laughing loudly, while Norway was shooting death glares at him. Sweden was already trying to get his "wife" away from them, and said "wife" was protesting against said title. And Iceland merely observed it all.

Well at least there was someone sensible among them.

Japan took some time to see what everyone else is doing, but no one seemed out of place. Considering the fact that violence, arguments, and tears were their normal. He was distracted by something brewing between America and Monaco. The only reason his gaze stayed on these two was because they don't have much interaction.

The small Asian nation relocated so he could hear the conversation better.

"I'm just saying that something must be done, America! Let's be sensible." Monaco crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Yeah, but is that necessary?" America sounded like he was whining.

England had noticed Japan come over, and filled him in.

"She thinks that we ought to give up our weapons. It's reasonable that we should, but then what would we do with them? Some people would probably lie. And even if we could put them all somewhere, they would always be accessible to someone. One could just take a weapon when no one's looking." England looked distressed.

"I agree that it would be futile." Japan murmurs. "Maybe if we could find the weapon, we could link it to someone. Isn't it odd? This time, the knife wasn't still with the body. Well, assuming that the killer used a knife. In Bulgaria's case, the dagger was still in him. But I can't remember what that knife looked like. And then with South Korea, there were still knives in him. It was just different with Australia and Austria, who weren't killed with knives. Well, actually, it could have been a knife that killed Austria…" Japan began mumbling to himself.

England chuckled. "I think you're thinking about it too hard, Japan. Who's to say that this time, the killer just didn't want to leave the knife in the body? You have to account for other things. Human nature is random. We don't have anything to go on."

And Japan realized that it's hopeless for him to think about. He almost sais something in reply, but then he was interrupted.

"YOU!"

Japan flinched at the loud voice. It was China, and he looked extremely mad. He walks straight over to Monaco. "Pray tell, Monaco, why this was in your room?" He held up a bloodied knife. "Right under the pillow. In your bed." The color was too familiar for her.

Monaco's eyes widened. She stumbled back, into France, and started stuttering. Meaningless words left her mouth and again she's the traumatized, young girl, who's just seen war and never wants to see it again.

"I don't…that isn't…" She stared at the knife like it's on fire.

China held it with two fingers on the handle, keeping it arm's length from him.

France put himself between Monaco and China. His eyes narrowed into slits. "And what were you doing in there, China?"

The small girl spoke up from behind him before China can snap back. "Don't jump to any conclusions, France," Taiwan retorted for China, who appeared surprised, because Taiwan never stood up for him. "I overslept, and made him show me what happened. And then, when we went in, we saw that, poking out from under _her_ pillow." Taiwan pointed at Monaco. She took a step towards France. With a defiant glint in her eyes, she spoke dangerously. "No one would ever suspect you though, France."

China understood that Taiwan was clearly provoked about something, and he put a hand on her shoulder. "Taiwan, do not lose your temper."

The dark-haired girl shrugged off his hand and turned to leave. Her quiet words were laced with unfamiliar venom. "Don't you ever blame my family for this. You'll regret it."

And yet, with her outburst, the resentful aura dissipated.

China sighed. "I'm sorry for that France. I lost my temper for a moment, and she got set off again. She's just mad at something."

"Maybe she's PMSing." America suggested, and China gave him a death glare. "What?"

England facepalmed. "America, I'm pretty sure that was not the right thing to say."

China turned to Monaco, far calmer than before. "Sorry, Monaco," He apologized. "If you could explain this, though, that would be nice…"

The perturbed brunette regained her composure. "I... can't explain that…I really have no idea how it got there. It probably sounds like I'm lying, but I really don't know how it got there…" She avoided China's eyes.

"I'd like to believe you…but I can't overlook this." China said regrettably.

Meanwhile, his entrance had attracted everyone else in the room.

New Zealand suddenly spoke up. "I'm with China on this. It's not something so simple that we can just let it go. It's potential evidence on you, Monaco." His/her words were level, but his/her eyes betrayed him. They held an accusing glare in them.

"Androgynous is right." Romania agreed, also looking accusingly at her.

"You are now a possible suspect, Monaco," Germany said. "It's nothing personal, and I don't truly think that the killer would simply hide the murder weapon under their pillow, but we have nothing else for now."

Monaco defended herself. "Really, is it the only thing you have to go on? What about relations? You know that not everyone exactly likes each other here. A lot of people harbored hate towards South Korea, Australia, I don't really know, and Austria and Bulgaria had some enemies too. I wouldn't kill Seychelles. And, if I was the killer, which I am not, I wouldn't be stupid enough to hide the weapon where someone would find it."

"In that case, wouldn't it be plausible to say that you put it there, to clear your name? Your reasons are excellent. So who's to say that it isn't a ruse? You direct the blame to yourself to direct it away from yourself." Germany responded.

Prussia looked confused. "Eh, you're thinking about it too hard, West…"

"No you're just not smart enough to understand it, Prussia."

The albino grinned. "You mean, I'm just too awesome to understand it?"

Germany looked like he wanted to hit his brother. That problem was quickly taken care of when a frying pan made contact with Prussia's head.

…

Monaco relented after a bit of fighting. "I don't want to argue. I just want you to know that I didn't kill her. I'll do whatever to prove it."

Germany nodded. "Thank you. I'm glad you're sensible. I just don't want to take any chances."

Monaco inclined her head, while holding her arm in front of France, who was defending her. When he saw the warning glare in her eyes, he relaxed.

But while the tense mood diminished, Monaco could still feel the stare of a certain Asian nation on her. It was simply decided to keep her in her room for the night, and see what happens. Monaco knew it was not a stable plan. Because some killers are patient, and her case will probably only get worse. And as she was escorted to her room, Monaco realized that she was being framed. And her situation wasn't very good.

She was suspicious.

Monaco felt the stare on her again, and she turned to face Taiwan. Taiwan walked towards her with a determination.

"Can I speak to her for a moment?" Taiwan asked, not bothering to look at Germany and France, who were escorting her. Instead, her gaze was fixed on Monaco.

France was about to decline, but Germany nodded and pulled France away.

"What do you—?" Monaco started, but stopped when she saw that the cold stare of Taiwan had dropped.

"Listen, I'm really sorry, Monaco." Taiwan looked almost pleadingly at her. "I didn't mean to lose it like that—but I was mad—about, about…." The girl looked away bashfully. "My family is very dysfunctional…I shouldn't have snapped, that's all. But even though I don't expect you to forgive me, I apologize for my insolence."

Monaco was stunned. She didn't move for a bit.

Anxiously, Taiwan began to walk away. She patted Monaco on the shoulder as she walked by.

"Us girls should stick together, right?"

And Monaco's nod wasn't acknowledged because the girl was already gone.

"Well what was that all about?" France asked when they returned.

"She apologized." Monaco answered tersely, but she sounded like she was confirming it for herself.

"Oh? Well that's nice." France didn't look at her when he answered. But Monaco wasn't paying any attention anyway.

And Germany couldn't help but think that they were very, very strange.

…

It didn't thunderstorm that night. Not that Monaco cared. She never really got frightened by thunderstorms, nor did she particularly care for the weather. But it was raining.

Monaco looked out the small slot, staring at the sky as it dumped buckets of rain.

"Rain season or what?" She mumbled to herself. "This place gets a lot of it." She walked over to her bed, lying down.

She wouldn't bother trying to get out of the room. The door opened outwards, so they probably just blocked it or something.

She really had no idea. But she wasn't going to try and find out.

So instead, she contented herself with reading the book that she and Seychelles had been looking at a while ago. Everyone else had at least moved the body so that she wouldn't have to deal with it. Although, they couldn't clean the ceiling….

She couldn't sleep. She abandoned the book and sat up.

"Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this." She murmured. "I don't have anything to go on either about the killer." She glanced up at the dried blood above her head. "But…it makes some sort of sense that it would be me, doesn't it? Why didn't I hear anyone enter? Why didn't I notice someone painting numbers above me with blood? I don't get it. I'm not even a heavy sleeper."

And her inner turmoil began. Guilt overwhelmed her, and she started to get confused. Now Monaco faced the wall, glaring at it. But her eyes were unseeing. Possibilities ran through her head. Something came up amongst it.

"_You can't lose it. Not now."_

That was what she said to Seychelles.

But Monaco was losing it. Right now.

And deep in her thought, she didn't hear something drop behind her.

"Monaco."

And she heard it too late. She spun around towards the voice, only to receive a sharp pain in her shoulder. She let out a small shriek and didn't notice as her glasses slid off her. Monaco rushed to move, darting towards the door.

The voice turned into a growl.

Monaco frantically twisted the doorknob, but to no avail. She whirled around, only to find the voice's owner right in front of her.

"Y-you!" She stammered. And then she opened her mouth to let out a scream, hoping that someone, _someone_, would hear her.

But before she could get any sound out, two hands wrapped around her neck.

"Not now, Monaco."

Her voice failed her as the hands gripped tighter. Helplessly and hopelessly, she slipped out of consciousness, glaring one last time at the face of her killer.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OH BOY ANOTHER CHAPTER. Jk, this was lol!failed. I have lots of ideas in my head, I just have to figure out when to incorporate them. So sorry if it seems a bit...weird.**

**An a different note...Oh yes, please correct me on any mistakes you find. because I was re-reading this before I uploaded, and I caught a bunch of mistakes. Yeah...**

**I wanted to thank everyone who has been keeping up with this story, 'cause you guys are awesome. keep in mind that any suggestions you give me are wonderful! I will do my best to include them, and if I don't for a while, just wait, because I'm going to try and incorporate them somehow, sometime. AND IF I DON'T GET THEM IN BY THE END OF THIS STORY, FLAME ME :DDDDDDD I WELCOME YOUR CRITICISM!**

**Ah yes, I won't (probably) get to update over winter break, I am traveling (yaaaay). But I'll try and write at least. maybe finish some oneshots I've started randomly...**

**HAH BY THE WAY, I DON'T OWN HETALIA. SEEING AS THIS IS FANFICTION, I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT. There, now I'll never have to do that again.**

**BEFORE I GO! There's one character that I will not kill in this fic. I won't tell you who it is, but feel free to guess.**


	7. Deteriorate

_**CHAPTER 7**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 7: <strong>__**Deteriorate**_

_Conscious fading, and losing sight_

_Hoping waiting, and giving plight._

_You can't last, and I'll want to see_

_As you deteriorate, and come with me._

_I'm terribly sorry, it's all just a game._

_To make you lose it; to make you insane._

* * *

><p>To say the least, it hadn't been a good week.<p>

Canada awoke before the sun rose. He sat up, stretched, and got out of bed in a matter of minutes. Lazily, he moved to the side of the bed, and searched for his glasses on the bedside table that sat there. When his roaming hands didn't find what they were looking for, his eyes opened fully and he leaned over to observe the bedside table better. The blonde cocked his head to the side in confusion, his curl swaying with the movement of his head. He was sure he had left his glasses there when he went to sleep that night. He examined the small stand, searching thoroughly for anywhere his glasses could have been misplaced. He directed his gaze to the floor.

As the first rays of sunlight broke through the window, Canada noticed something glint on the floor. He stepped towards it curiously.

Unfortunately, Canada couldn't see very well without his glasses. He took a step forward, but stepped too far, and heard a crack beneath his feet.

"Crap!" He whispered loudly, not wanting to wake the other resident of the room.

He quickly lifted his foot and stumbled back.

He definitely didn't remember leaving his glasses on the ground last night. And he didn't move around in his sleep either.

Muttering curses under his breath, he leaned over to pick up his cracked frames off the floor. Luckily for him, only one lens was cracked, and not so much so. The glasses bent a little oddly, but the hinges still worked fine, and he was able to situate them on his face. They perched on his nose as they should, but the left lens gave a distorted image. The right one was just fine. He cursed himself for his clumsiness and looked out the window, which was just a bit to his left, which presided between the two beds in the room.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon line, and Canada relished the pale colors, even if he could only see them well out of one eye. He liked the way the oranges and the pinks drifted into the dark blue, and the light colors filtered through the dark colors. The sky turned into a nice, light combination of blue, yellow and pink. Canada loved these types of sunrises; he was definitely a morning person.

He stayed like that for a while, just looking out the window, enjoying the peace while it lasted. Peace never lasted when you were stuck in a big house with a bunch of stupid personified nations. He knew that he'd have to go out sooner or later. Not that it mattered if he did or didn't. No one ever acknowledged him, and if they did, they mistook him as America. It did get quite lonely. He even didn't have kumakouro either. The bear had disappeared somewhere when they first arrived. Even if the bear forgot Canada's name constantly, at least he was company. The loneliness seemed to be eating at Canada's conscience.

But even so, he forgave everyone ultimately.

He chose to leave the room then. Broken glasses and all, he walked out, smiling fondly at the sleeping form of America once before he was out the door.

* * *

><p>At the same time, a different kind of character woke up.<p>

Romania, however, was alone. Not that he minded, he had no need for a close companion and no need for someone to share burdens with. Bulgaria had been the closest thing to that, but Bulgaria was gone. He wondered if they were ever more than friends. Bulgaria's death had shaken him, that much was true. Romania took a moment to ponder if he would go crazy too. Or maybe he already was. He knew how Belarus would act if something happened to Russia, and he didn't want to face the dormant wrath in everyone else. Romania was glad for the time being that he didn't have any other friends.

At the same time, that was a disadvantage, wasn't it? Who would be upset if Romania died? Who would want to help him?

Romania sat on the edge of his bed, his legs hanging off the side, staring at the shadows on the floor, which were shifting with the sunrays of the rising sun. He ran a hand through his light hair.

"I'm going to be just fine…" He muttered to himself.

He was better off alone. He had no need for alliances or such. He was a debater, not a diplomat. He'd argue with anyone he knew. He'd argued with Bulgaria a lot, Hungary all the time (they did border each other), England (they had constant arguments in their own small magic club), and anyone else he'd ever been in contact with.

Romania smiled shrewdly at his misfortune and incompetence.

Then he decided to get up. With a yawn, he attempted to stand from his sitting position, but merely fell backwards onto the bed.

"Maybe just five more minutes…" He mumbled.

He curled up into the strewn about sheets and closed his eyes.

About twenty minutes later, he rose and stood up. With his eyes half open, he made his way towards the exit. His hands fumbled on the door, and managed to twist the doorknob, swinging the door outwards. He walked into the hall then, ready to face another day.

And promptly crashed into someone.

"Goddamnit, Hungary, why do you insist on killing my day before it even begins?"

"I could say the same to you, asshole." Hungary stumbled back when she crashed into Romania, while he fell over.

She extended a hand to help him up, grinning facetiously. Romania took the hand.

"You suck, Hungary." He laughed.

She punched him in the shoulder. "The feeling's mutual."

"Well then. You seem awfully happy today. I can't imagine why." Romania began walking and Hungary followed after him.

"What? Do I? Gosh, I'd better stop. Wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea…" Hungary mock gasped.

Romania chuckled. "Hm. Hey, Frying Pan, didn't you room with someone? I didn't, but I thought you would have." He asked her as they came to a set of stairs.

"I roomed with that nice Asian, Taiwan. Poor girl's been depressed since the South Korea incident. By the time I woke up, she was already gone. I must have overslept or something…" Hungary sighed. She remained quiet for a short while, and the male next to her made no conversation.

Her voice suddenly piped up, and she caught Romania off guard with her words. "Say Romania…this'll be awkward, but…do you think that something might've happened to someone last night?"

Romania stopped. "Ah…" He didn't look at Hungary, who was fidgeting uncomfortably. "Well I hope not!" He began walking again. "Ease up, Frying Pan. Don't worry about it. Besides, if there was a murder, you would've been the one to find it!" Romania smiled. "After all, you've found two before."

Hungary didn't look relieved, but she grinned back at Romania. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure nothing bad happened."

But they both knew it was a hopeless lie.

…

Sometimes, Romania didn't like to always be right.

He craned his neck back to look up at the body of Monaco.

"We completely forgot about the vents in the ceiling, didn't we?" Romania muttered.

"Hm, I guess we did." Hungary also was looking up at the hanging body. The ceiling was fairly high up, and the vents were fairly large, and they must have been strong, too. Her voice was level, but her green eyes were wide and troubled. Romania knew that the Hungarian would never be so nonchalant about a death.

He didn't respond, opting to quietly observe the body. Monaco just hung there. Her eyes and mouth were closed, and she hung lifelessly by a tight noose around her neck.

"Hanged?" He quietly wondered out loud.

Monaco's left shoulder—well it would have been her right—was an ugly brownish-red color. It soaked into the rest of her shirt, and her upper body was damp with blood.

But then, something like that wouldn't have killed her.

And then Romania made out the marks on her neck. They encircled her neck, forming a dark purple line. She must have been strangled or the like. The line was thick, and clearly visible, despite some of it being covered by the noose. The tight rope was digging into her skin, and the Romanian could see the red liquid that had dried on Monaco's neck, blending with the dark purple bruises.

He must have looked terrified. He peered over at Hungary, only to notice a similar reaction. Her eyes were wide and with her mouth slightly opened, she had the face of a hopeless animal about to be killed.

Normally, Romania would have mocked her for making such a face. But today, he slipped away and left the room, not wanting to look at Monaco's body anymore. He didn't bother to notice the large red six that was drawn directly under Monaco's hanging lifeless corpse.

…

Hungary had left a little after Romania. She walked down the halls alone. She wasn't the absolute last to leave the room, but most people had already gone to wherever. Perhaps she'd go and try to find Taiwan. The girl looked like she needed a friend. Hungary decided to go to the main hall, that place seemed to be where everyone always was.

It was easy enough to get there. She had a good sense of direction and she'd wandered the halls before. The place was full of the usual loud chattering and arguing.

"Good morning, Hungary." Came a quiet, calm voice.

Startled, Hungary whirled towards the source, only to come face to face with the small form of Japan. Her shoulders sagged in relief, and she smiled at him.

"Sorry, you scared me," She motioned for him to follow her, and the nation quickly fell into step beside her. "Good morning to you, too. You've already seen who it was today…?" Hungary trailed off, not wanting to breach the subject.

"Yes. Poor Monaco, and it's all our fault, isn't it?" Japan's usual calm demeanor faded for a moment as he frowned. His eyes took on a sorrowful dullness, and the Hungarian next to him hurried to change the subject.

"Ah, don't be silly, Japan, we were only acting out on our emotions. We just…I think we just wanted something to blame. Anyway, have you seen Taiwan? I've been looking for her. She seems so down…" Hungary gave him a hopeful look and stopped walking.

Japan stopped too, appearing startled. But he covered it up with his usual façade, and he shook his head.

Hungary frowned, but she was quick to mask it. "Oh well, that's okay. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

And with that, she smiled at Japan, but he noticed that her smile seemed a bit forced. Anything he would have felt, though, would have been equally secret. He allowed a small smile while he walked with her, but refused any other useless, wasteful emotions.

He laughed politely at something the green eyed girl said, and glanced furtively around the room every so often—just in case.

…

Canada kept a watchful eye on France. The man certainly hadn't been doing well. Canada knew that France cared for Seychelles and Monaco. The seemingly invisible nation simply stared at France as he broke down.

Canada allowed himself to stare because, really, who ever noticed him anyway? Well, at least, those who noticed him mistook him for America. Canada could see a slight resemblance between himself and America, but never thought that they were that similar.

France was alone, and Canada could tell that he wanted to cry. England had even opted to give the Frenchman a moment of solitude. So, without his bear, Canada made his way over to France, maybe in hopes of alleviating some of the pain. He actually had met Monaco once, and he took a liking to her, because she had been able to tell the difference between him and America. They had met under the circumstances of once being colonies of France, and she had somehow known who he was. It didn't stop her from occasionally mistaking him for America, but when she did, she was able to catch herself before Canada corrected her.

But she was dead, now.

He sat down next to France, and rubbed the older nation's back. He didn't say anything, and neither did France, but it was enough for the two of them. They sat in silence amongst the rest of the loud buzz of almost every other person in the room.

Until even that was disturbed.

…

Belgium entered the room with red eyes and a running nose. She threw herself onto the first person she saw, who—strangely enough—was New Zealand.

She blubbered through her tears, and was loud enough to attract the attention of everyone else in the room. New Zealand just looked slightly startled and hugged Belgium as she sobbed.

"Belgium? What's wrong?" Spain walked towards the scene, looking troubled. Romano came close behind.

Belgium finally made some comprehendible words through New Zealand's shirt.

"He won't—he won't wake up!"

…

Her green eyes simply scanned the scene before Hungary forced herself to look at the unmoving nation. There were no marks on his body, and his face looked very calm. To die in one's sleep seemed like a blessing to her.

It was painfully obvious (no pun intended) that Netherlands was dead. Even still, Spain reached down to feel his pulse, and refused to meet Belgium's eyes. Hungary knew he was dead. Spain knew it. Belgium knew it too, but the girl refused to accept it.

Her sobs grew louder, and the room became crowded as people from the main hall followed Belgium. Naturally, they wanted to know what was happening, and just as naturally, they all shied away from the crying girl.

Spain gave Belgium a pained look. "Belgium, he's…"

"He's not dead! He can't be dead! He's my brother!" Belgium shouted. She glared angrily at Spain.

"Bel…" Spain used her nickname, not knowing that Netherlands had used it as well.

Belgium covered her ears with her hands. "Stop it! Just wake him up!" She shook her head furiously.

"Belgium, you can't…" Spain coaxed, trying to calm her down. "He's not going to—he's not going to…" Spain didn't finish, and Belgium's cries increased.

"He's not going to wake up, dammit!"

Romano looked frustrated. "Just quit crying, Bel! You're not the only one who's upset!"

Belgium's shoulders went slack, and her sobs quieted. Her bangs veiled her eyes as she raised her head slightly.

"Come on now, Bel…" The Italian stepped towards her. "Come on, I'm sorry…"

Belgium raised her head and looked defiantly at Romano and Spain. She opened her mouth.

"No you're not. You're not sorry, Romano." And with that, she turned and fled.

...

"So was it poison then?"

All of the nations—at least, what they assumed was all of them—were gathered in the main hall—now something of a meeting and announcement area. All the tables had been pulled together, and the nations sat at it, like their own makeshift world meeting.

Lithuania proposed the question, and the blonde next to him turned to speak.

"Obviously, Liet, I mean, there were, like, no markings at all on him, so, like, what else could it possibly have been?" Poland flipped his hair with a perfectly manicured hand.

Twitching ever so slightly, England agreed. "Yes. As Poland has said, there were no markings or cuts to indicate and sort of weapon being used. In addition, Monaco's body was found already, and it would have been odd for the killer to kill two people in one night. Poison could have been used during the day, or any other time."

"So if some of the food was poisoned, shouldn't we be dropping like flies too? What is it that he ate or drank that killed him?" France appeared relatively okay emotionally, though the nation next to him had a worried face. Not that anyone noticed Canada sitting next to France.

England didn't want to jump into a giant argument with France at the moment, and France looked somewhat peaceful too, so England replied indifferently. "It would've had to have been something he ate or drank that no one else did. Does anyone know exactly what he ate or drank yesterday?"

Everyone looked blatantly at Belgium because she seemed likely to have spent the most time with him.

She didn't acknowledge the stares, but was still glaring intensely at Romano. 'My brother is—was—antisocial. He avoided me yesterday. I don't know anything."

Romano, cringing ever so slightly under Belgium's glare, suddenly spoke up. "Well, I don't really know if it's that important, but yesterday, he was eating an apple—and he said it was the last one…"

France chuckled caustically. "A poisoned apple, really? What is this, Cinderella?"

England almost reached over and hit the laughing Frenchman. Instead, he gave Romano a questioning look. "Oh, that is important. We'll have to take note of that. And shut up, France, maybe the killer's just some twisted freak who's into fairy tales—don't you like fairy tales, too?"

France would've reacted harshly to that, but the Canadian next to him put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a warning look. At that moment, France finally took note of Canada's cracked glasses. He gave the blonde a questioning look, but Canada merely shook his head and mouthed'_later_.'

"Well, alright. Was there anything else?" England was holding a book and a pen, and France quietly snickered at his seriousness.

"Well what are we supposed to do about the poison? Should we just not eat at all?" America finally made himself heard. He'd been terribly quiet throughout the entire conversation. Considering how loud he normally was.

"We can't really do anything." England said grimly. "All we have to go on is an apple, and Netherlands had said it was the only one. If we go on that, then the poisoning would have been intentional and planned. I hate to say it, but there's nothing really that we can do. We have no idea what's poisoned or not." England shook his head as he spoke. "Sorry."

The rest of the room was silent.

"While everyone's here, I think that we should pair up. All of the incidents were possible because the victims were alone. We need to try to stick with someone to keep safety. We'll also have to make room provisions as well." Germany spoke in an austere tone.

"Alright that sounds good." England and Germany made eye contact, with the two of them probably being the most serious in the room.

The nations were quick to pair up. Some fighting and running away ensued while they tried to get people into groups.

Luckily, there was an even number of people, and everyone had one partner. Though it would've been impossible to say that everyone was happy with their groups, they would just have to be content for now. But the fact remained that one of them was paired with a killer.

…

Romano ultimately had been stuck with Spain. He wouldn't say he was pleased, but he figured that he would've been alone otherwise. Italy had immediately claimed Germany, and Belgium was pissed at him for whatever reason. He didn't know what he did to make her so mad, and it upset him. He liked Belgium. She was nice. He even used to have a crush on her. Romano knew that Belgium had paired with New Zealand. She had a fetish for small, cute things or something.

He was currently walking towards his old room, as they had to make room changes. He had to move his stuff into a different room. He would be stuck in a room with an annoying Spaniard. He blamed Germany. Bastard.

And then he saw her. Belgium turned a corner, and was walking ahead of him, not noticing him.

He hurried to catch up with her. She may have been mad at him, but he still wanted to know why.

"Belgium, hey—" He reached for her, but she spun around to glare at him as soon as she heard him.

"I saw you, Romano. I saw you." And then she rushed away, leaving Romano completely perplexed.

Romano stumbled back, and shook his head to clear it. He'd gotten such a negative reaction, and he still had no answer to his question.

Why were all the girls so pissy here?

…

"Say goodnight to me, brother. Say goodnight. I want a goodnight kiss, too, brother. You know I love you. I love you, brotherbrotherbrotherbrother. Won't you marry me?"

"GO AWAY!"

Liechtenstein sighed. It appeared that Belarus was at it again. Despite the fact that he was scary most of the time, the petite blonde felt bad for Russia.

"Go to sleep, Liechtenstein," Switzerland said to her. He was already sitting in his bed, and was giving her a look again. "And stay away from those people."

Liechtenstein cocked her head to the side in question. "Who, brother?"

Swizterland stared out the still open door. "Those Soviets. Belarus. Russia. Just stay away. They're dangerous people."

Liechtenstein closed the door and nodded to Switzerland. "Of course, brother."

She turned off the light and approached her own bed.

"Good night, brother."

"Good night."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well. So sorry it's late. Alas, I had to travel for the holidays. I had some awesome rave parties, though...**

**Concerning this chapter, you know I'm never really happy with my chapters. But Belarus is so much fun to write. I'm going to write a story for her when this is done. **

**You know, I really hate how you write something on MS word, and it seems long, and then you transfer it to fanfiction, and it seems pathetic. Bleh.**

**I'll try and update quickly to make up for the lack of chapters. So sorry about that. **

**ITS SO HARD TO KEEP PEOPLE IN CHARACTER. SO I DON'T :D**


	8. Blissful Ignorance

_**CHAPTER 8**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 8: Blissful Ignorance<strong>_

_What you need, isn't this._

_When you do, you blink and miss._

_You don't want to know, so you don't_

_You still want to live, but still, you won't._

_You're still falling; you can't rise._

_Fake a smile, and take the prize._

* * *

><p>Canada couldn't sleep. It was sometime during the night—he really couldn't tell—and everyone was in their respective rooms. The other occupant to his room was the other North American besides America. In other words, Canada had roomed with Cuba. In all honesty, the Canadian saw no point in the sudden room provisions. The rooms had been fine before.<p>

Whatever.

The Cuban hadn't been Canada's first choice, but the two were friends (on the occasions that Canada wasn't mistaken for America).

Blonde hair shifted as he rolled over in his bed. Large, troubled, violet eyes stared intensely at the small bedside table. Canada's glasses rested on it, and the one cracked lens gleamed in the moonlight.

He rolled over again.

Shadows moved on the wall like dancers under the moonlight as clouds passed over the bright moon in the sky. Canada suddenly felt a distinct pain in his head. Something like a migraine struck him, and he groaned quietly.

He sat up. His muscles ached as he moved, and with any movement he made, a sting coursed through his body. A small hiss escaped his lips when he reached for his glasses. As his fingers curled around the cold metal, a sharp, burning feeling jolted in his hand. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, trying to ignore the pain that suddenly ran through his arms.

He twisted his neck, to look at himself. He could see nothing in the dark, though, and it didn't help that one lens was cracked. As he moved, the paroxysms and spasms only increased. The pains attacked him everywhere, like tiny daggers.

"What the hell is going on?" He whispered. Somehow, forming the words caused him less pain than moving. He glanced at the other man in the bed next to him.

Cuba seemed fine.

Canada's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even the slightest movement seemed to give him pain.

It made no sense.

The only thing that shook the Canadian was that _it made no fucking sense!_

And then the pain stopped. Halted. Disappeared. In one second, it was gone.

Canada moved around a bit, to test it out. Nothing. The sudden lack of pain only served to perplex him even more. He shook his head, deciding not to think too hard about it.

Because suddenly, he was very tired.

Without taking off his glasses, Canada lied back down in his bed, closed his eyes, and breathed in the deep aroma that filled the air. Canada fell asleep in no time.

…

Cuba awoke sometime late. When he opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.

"What a beautiful morning!" He said loudly.

With a similar exuberance, he threw the covers about and sat up. He yawned, and smiled at the morning (though it was probably already past that). He absentmindedly rubbed his wrist, as there was an odd pain it, as though he had been pricked by a needle. Then he rose up off the bed, still beaming.

After that, he stood stock still for a few minutes, wondering silently why he was so optimistic. Quickly getting bored with that thought, he stretched and moved towards the door.

Wait a minute….Oh yeah, he had roomed with someone last night.

Cuba glanced over to the other side of the room where the second bed was. A small lump was visible on the bed, and covered by the covers. Cuba guessed that they were asleep. Though the name of the occupant escaped at the moment. It wasn't America, it was the other one….

Whatever.

Cuba didn't want to rudely wake up whoever was in the bed, sleeping. So he exited the room without looking back again, and made sure to close the door silently. He made his way down the hall quietly, taking the opportunity to approximate the time by looking out the windows. Small slits ran down the left side of the hallway, and Cuba could glance out them and try and project the sun's elevation.

So far it wasn't working.

It was hard enough to pinpoint the sun's location through the tiny excuse of a window, and Cuba wound up staring into the sun. And killing his eyesight.

But that's beside the point. Either way, he must've woke up late, because practically everyone had already crowded into the main hall. Chatter filled the room, and it almost seemed normal.

But who was dumb enough to believe that?

…

"Hey, Latvia, what're you up to?"

The voice startled Latvia, and he whirled around, only to relax when he realized that it was Estonia. Said country was looking at him with curiosity.

Latvia looked at him weirdly, and Estonia shifted nervously under the smaller nation's stare. "I mean, it's just, everyone else is in the main hall, and you're here all alone…"

Latvia had come around to check the kitchen again. He wasn't an alcoholic, he really wasn't; it had just been a while. He wasn't the only one who wanted it, too. Prussia and Denmark complained loudly enough, Germany got an irritated look occasionally, and even Russia seemed off. But Russia always had a bottle of vodka with him that always seemed to be full, so Latvia wasn't really sure.

And Estonia was still waiting for an answer.

"Ah, I was just…looking around. This place is so large, you know," Latvia smiled innocently. "Although I haven't found anything interesting. Have you noticed that there are a bunch of locked doors around here, too? I wonder if there was some way we could open them."

A small smile appeared on Estonia's face. "Yeah, I've seen them. But I don't think that we'd have any luck with them." The blonde pushed his glasses up—a nervous tic of his, Latvia noted.

…

Estonia knew well enough that Latvia wasn't going to tell him what he had been doing. The bespectacled country could tell a truth from a lie—most of the time—but he didn't want to make Latvia uncomfortable. The two were friends, and Estonia knew well enough that the small nation had been through a lot just with Russia.

That wasn't to say that Estonia wasn't logical. He was just soft on the other Baltics. Estonia held little trust in other nations. Well, just now more than ever. He was friends with Finland, and he was on good relations with others, but…there would come a time when he might have to betray their trust.

It didn't matter much to him that Latvia would lie. Everyone else lied, anyway.

Estonia was nervous, though. He got the feeling that someone was close, or someone was watching them. It was probably just Russia, though. He was only glad that he didn't have to be anywhere near him. Though he had shared a room with Latvia before, now Latvia roomed with Sealand. Estonia didn't get the need to move everyone around. Sure, some people were alone, but the truth was, most of the deaths had occurred when people were _sleeping. _Estonia had roomed with the quiet Hong Kong. In the end, it had just come down to people who didn't have anyone else.

China was the unlucky guy who got stuck with Russia. Estonia felt bad for him, but what could he do? Someone had to do it.

"Come on, Latvia, quit searching for a bit, let's go back." Estonia ushered Latvia back towards the hallway.

And he did his best to shake the burning gaze set on his back.

…

"You poor sap. You poor, unfortunate soul." England shook his head and patted China's back while the Romanian next to him chuckled.

China groaned. "Why do I have to be with him, of all people?"

"Sorry, China," Romania was grinning humorously. "That's what happens when you get stuck with a crazy Russian."

"I didn't get any sleep last night! I swear he was watching me all night!" China lamented. "What about you guys?"

The only thing the three of them had in common was their lack of sleep.

"God, America snores like a pig! I can't believe I got stuck with that idiot." England huffed angrily. Meanwhile, America bounded over, having heard his name.

"What was that, old man?" America looped an arm over England's shoulder, and the blonde scowled. He shrugged America's arm off and berated the North American.

"I said you snore, you twit!"

America pouted. "Aw, come on, you're messing with me!"

England gave no reply.

Meanwhile, Romania answered China's question. "I'm with France. _France._" Romania shuddered, and China adopted a look of sympathy. "I kept feeling like he was going to rape me. Yeah…not much sleep last night. This is why I need more relations."

"I am so sorry." China put his hand on Romania's shoulder.

England was still scolding America. And may or may not have been using a book to cause physical harm to him.

…

"They're idiots." Norway deadpanned.

Iceland, standing next to his brother, merely nodded his head.

…

Sometime after America had received multiple bruises, and England was content with the damage, America remembered something.

"Oh by the way, guys, have you seen Canada?"

"…Who?"

…

The lone African nation was silent as he crept down the halls.

Egypt was solitary, quiet, and cautious. The nation was perfectly capable of going for long periods without sleep. He was smart enough to notice when most deaths occurred. He was also intelligent—rather, he was clever.

And each step he took was soundless. The nation knew where he was going and he could get there quick. He pleased, for once, at his antisocial-ness. It wasn't to say he was awkward, but there was no one he had a particular link with. No one bothered him, and he didn't bother them. It just went that way, and he kept his musings to himself.

He wasn't one to wonder aloud.

But that didn't mean he didn't wonder.

…

He had no idea where he was, there was a large Russian leering over him, and Latvia was pretty sure he was going to wet his pants.

The short nation shivered under the piercing stare of the taller. Innocent violet eyes cut into him like a knife, and a small smile danced on Russia's face.

God, that smile still scared the crap out of him.

"Latvia." The last syllable was drawn out as Russia tried to touch said country. His smile betrayed the aura he was giving off.

Latvia quivered and stepped away.

Russia took a step closer as the smaller blonde stepped back. "You have been avoiding me, Latvia. I feel so lonely~" Now his gaze turned menacing. His lighthearted tone continued. "What were you looking for, little Latvia?"

Latvia's eyes widened and he didn't speak. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up straighter with every step Russia took.

"Um, well I was just—" Latvia panicked as his back hit the wall. Russia bent over with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Yes?"

Latvia gulped. He hated that he was scared, and he really hated Russia. He wanted to glare defiantly into those violet eyes that were just like his own, and stand up for himself.

But that was hard to do when one could not even form words.

Latvia closed his eyes when Russia reached into his jacket. His body shook, but he said nothing. It will be just like the other times, he supposed. And he waited.

But the blow never came.

One tan arm stretched itself around Latvia's shoulders, and the blonde opened his eyes to see another arm around Russia's.

"Hey, hey, what's going on over here?" Cuba said with a grin.

Latvia breathed a sigh of relief. Russia wouldn't hurt him if there was a nation like Cuba around. While he was violent, and intimidating in public, he preferred his privacy in his abuse.

It was sick, but at the moment, Latvia was grateful for it.

"Hello, comrade!" Russia greeted the dark-skinned man.

"H-hi." Latvia couldn't keep the stutter out of his voice, but Cuba didn't appear to notice.

Smoke filled Latvia's nostrils as Cuba lit a cigar. He winced at the smell, though Russia seemed unbothered. Apparently, the North-America country was ignorant enough to not realize what was going on before he interrupted.

But apparently, he wasn't as unaware as Latvia had assumed. Because when Russia began chanting his familiar "kolkolkol," the smoker turned to him, and told him to stop. And Russia stopped. Latvia was astounded at his confrontation. He decided not to assume things about Cuba anymore. He didn't know much of the nation's history, anyway.

As it turned out, Cuba was a talkative person. He managed to engage Latvia in conversation, sometimes including Russia as well. Latvia found himself liking the man. It was rare to find someone so nice who got along with Russia. The petite blonde eased up a bit. He even got used to the stench of the cigar.

But it was the cigar that was annoying Latvia. The way the Cuban had that luxury only served to remind Latvia that there was missing alcohol. And he didn't even drink it that often! He blamed it on his nerves. He'd been painfully anxious the whole time they'd been at the mansion.

Latvia let out a small sigh as Cuba told him about the time he beat up America. The sigh was short-lived, and he laughed at the story. The only reason that he ever really liked America was because the boisterous country absolutely despised Russia.

Latvia would have commented on Cuba's story, but he was interrupted by another, particular, loud ex-nation.

"Hey, Cuba, you were with Canada, right? When we moved rooms, and stuff." Prussia's trademark grin was replaced with a worried frown.

"Aha! It was Canada!" Cuba exclaimed. When everybody stared at him in confusion, he cleared his throat and continued. "Uh, yeah, what about it?"

"You know where he is?" Prussia asked.

"No, sorry. Although he was still in the room when I left."

Prussia's eyes widened, and Cuba realized what he said.

"Oh crap."

…

Egypt turned away as the small group ran down the hall in the opposite direction of him. he stood still for a few minutes, just thinking.

Without resolving any thoughts, he moved from his hiding position, and followed the others.

…

"What a shame. He probably thought he was safe because he was invisible."

…

America listlessly poked his brother's cheek again. Canada wasn't moving. The brightness in America's blue eyes were reduced to a dull sheen. Canada's own eyes were closed and peaceful.

The room was quiet.

Everyone gazed on at the still body on the bed. It was unknown how long Canada had been lying there. All that was known was that he was dead.

On the other side of the bed, Cuba stood still, and stared down at the motionless Canadian. Guilt and something else flashed in his sorrowful eyes. It was, perhaps, the first time he had been in a room with America and not attempted to attack him.

There was a melancholy atmosphere, but there was another reason the room was so quiet.

"So like, who died?" Poland was completely unaware of the time bomb he just set off.

America stood up in anger, but France was faster.

"You idiot!" The problem had always been Canada's invisibility. He wasn't known enough, and France was now livid. "Why do you always forget about him!"

Poland's eyes widened, and he apologized, but his question was still unanswered.

Someone put a hand on France's shoulder.

"Canada," Prussia clarified. "Was a very good person. He wouldn't want you to get mad, France."

The albino glared at Poland while comforting his friend. France was taking it hard, having lost Seychelles, Monaco, and now Canada. Prussia gave him a look of sympathy.

Poland hung his head, but it was fairly obvious that he wasn't the only one who forgot who Canada was. America was still glaring intensely at everyone. England, standing behind the American, attempted to calm him down.

After a period of silence, Cuba spoke up. "Do you think he died like Netherlands? There aren't any marks on his body, and I never heard anything last night. He was in this position when I left this morning." The question wasn't really directed at anyone, but he was looking at England, who seemed to be in charge of investigations.

"Seems likely." England murmured his reply. His eyes were trained on France, who was still upset.

But after that, the room remained silent. No one moved or spoke.

Suddenly, Prussia moved. He walked out the door, dragging France with him. After them hurried Spain, to complete the trio. Shortly after that, the rest of the people in the room left. Soon the only ones that remained were Cuba, America, and England.

Cuba and America made eye contact, and made a mutual contract. The Cuban said something to the American that England didn't catch. America acknowledged Cuba and nodded his head. With that, the dark skinned man turned to leave.

"Why are you still here, England?" America didn't bother to look at the Brit as he asked.

In response, England leaned over and pulled Canada's glasses from his face.

"These." He pushed them into the American's hands, and left.

Now alone, America examined the object in his hands. He held the glasses up to light and stared at them. A small ray of dying sunlight caught the lens and sent an odd reflection to the wall. America's brow crinkled in confusion.

Why were both lenses cracked?

…

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Latvia had caught Cuba a little after he left. The man would be all alone because Canada's body had already been moved.

Cuba beamed at him, and laughed. "Don't you worry about me! I'll be just fine!"

Latvia smiled just a little and decided that he liked this guy.

As Cuba turned to go to his room for the night, Latvia decided to go find his roommate. It was easy to find Sealand. The tiny, self-proclaimed nation was noisy and energetic. They made an odd pair of friends, Latvia had always thought. But all the same, they were friends. Latvia was highly entertained by the amount of resentment Sealand had towards England. It was nice to try and act like a brother for the micronation.

As he was looking for Sealand, Latvia noticed everyone else chatting. He spotted Estonia talking with Hong Kong. He would have roomed with Estonia like before, but Sealand had grabbed him quickly to get away from England. Latvia was amused by the odd pairings that kept forming at this house. It turned out that Estonia and Hong Kong got along pretty well.

"Take that, you English jerk!" Latvia finally heard Sealand.

The micronation was sitting on England. Who was lying face down on the floor. Finland and Sweden observed the scene with mild curiosity, while America was laughing. Latvia took a few seconds to mentally facepalm.

He sighed as he made his way over to the cheering boy. "Come on, let's go." He pulled on Sealand's arm.

"Aw, come on!" Sealand whined, but he got up anyway.

England groaned as he sat up, and he shot Latvia a grateful look. "You little brat!" He scolded Sealand, who merely replied by sticking his tongue out. "Why you!" England growled at the boy, but Latvia tugged Sealand along, not wanting to start another fight.

…

"Don't you think it's odd?" Egypt calmly spoke while staring out the window.

Turkey turned to him, sitting on the opposite side of the room. "What?"

"Hungary and Romania have been acting too civil with each other. Normally they're at each other's throats. But they haven't been acting that way for since we got here." The African nation tilted his head while pondering his own question.

The Turk laughed. "I wouldn't think too hard about it. If I know anything about either of those two, it's that they're strange. Anything can happen. You could attribute it to the atmosphere here, if you want." He grinned while Egypt frowned even more.

The small man was still in thought about it, though. "Maybe so, but I wouldn't trust them for now. It's just too peculiar."

"I think you're just paranoid," Turkey said. "Now I'll tell you who you shouldn't trust. That Greece. He's a little liar. Don't you go trusting those Grecians. Let me tell you…"

Egypt sighed and laid back in his bed as Turkey went on a rant about how much he hated Greece. But it was normal, and Egypt was fine with normal.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yup. Just another crappy chapter. I feel like I should explain that, a lot that you'll see in here may seem** **odd, strange, or make no sense, but a lot of it may also be relevant to later chapters. Just to let you know, I actually will be leaving hints here and there about who the killer is instead of leading you down random dead ends. You can ask me about anything that makes little sense, and I'll try to explain. Anyway...**

**Remember when I said I'd try to update faster? I lied. I am trying, I'm just a procrastinator, and sometime life is hard to deal with. Terribly sorry.** **=.= I am slowly attempting to improve my writing. Let's just see how that goes...**


	9. Disguise

**_CHAPTER 9_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 9:<strong>_ **_Disguise_**

_You are choosing your own fate._

_You are choosing far too late._

_It's easy to be led astray._

_But it happens either way._

_You really have no choice, you see._

_And the only choice you have is me._

* * *

><p>Liechtenstein walked calmly down the halls. In some rare occurrence, she was without her adoptive older brother. The two were normally inseparable. But that was mostly just Switzerland being an extremely protective brother. But this time, she was alone, and she walked briskly. She didn't seem determined, or angry, but worried and hurried instead.<p>

Anyone who passed her or saw her was certainly surprised when she stopped in front of one door.

France's.

She may have been naïve, but she certainly wasn't an idiot. Everyone knew of France's reputation. And Switzerland had forced her through self defense lessons. She was prepared for anything. She had a gun under the folds of her dress, and knew where to kick if he made a move on her.

So, ever so politely, she raised her arm and knocked on the door.

And she really wasn't expecting what she saw when the door opened.

France was…crying. Of all of her speculations, this one had slipped her mind. Maybe it was because it was odd to see such a large nation cry. It was just so uncharacteristic that it startled her. But still, she'd seen others cry, and fortunately, she was pretty good with dealing with emotional breakdowns.

Liechtenstein might have asked France what was wrong, but at that moment, he merely closed the door on her, and mumbled, "Go away."

"Hey—wait!" She pushed open the door. France's eyes widened at her outburst, and he didn't try and force her out.

"What's wrong?" She stared at him with large emerald eyes, and smiled gently. It seemed to surprise the older blonde, and he didn't speak.

And then, in a moment, he let himself crumble. The small tears turned into sobs, and Liechtenstein allowed him to cry on her shoulder. She may not have known what it was like to lose someone close, but she was a sympathetic soul, and she could recognize genuine sadness. If her brother were here, he'd be having a fit. Liechtenstein was glad that Switzerland had been so tired. They'd simply gone to their room, and he'd crashed on the bed. A fond smile lit up her face as she remembered how he'd fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Although she had no reason why he was so tired.

And then she remembered that she was comforting someone. She snapped out of her reverie, and attempted to stand France back up. She was far too small for him to be leaning on her.

As he moved, she straightened out his rumpled clothes. A silence settled among them, but it was a peaceful one. An agreement they could reach that required no words, and a sympathy they could offer without a sound. It was like their own unspoken conversation.

Had anyone else witnessed the situation, they would have not thought it was France. He was just standing there. Next to a pretty, young girl, who wouldn't hurt a fly. It was crazy!

But then, Liechtenstein knew that the country had a reason to be sad, and she remembered her own reason for coming.

She broke the silence with spoken words, and she used them quietly. "I'm sorry," She seemed almost scared to speak, but when France waved her words off, she spoke louder. "No, everyone forgot about Canada. And he didn't deserve it. I'm sorry for that."

The man's blue eyes widened a bit, but then he smiled fondly. He chuckled slightly, not in a perverted way, and put his hand on Liechtenstein's shoulder. "You remind me of her. Just a bit." He murmured the words, and the green eyed girl looked at him in confusion.

"I remind you of whom, France?"

But the older nation shook his head. "Nothing, my darling, nothing."

Liechtenstein was relieved that he seemed better. She beamed. But she realized that she would have to return to her room in case Switzerland woke up. Something made her think that he wouldn't appreciate her visiting France. So she turned to exit the room. As she reached the door, she turned to the room's occupant. "Will you be alright, France?"

His response was a nod. She tilted her head, thinking of something else. "Where's your roommate, anyway? I don't quite remember who you were with."

France shrugged. "Oh, don't worry, Romania's out and about somewhere. I think I freak him out."

"I'm sure that's not true," She assured him. "He'll probably be back soon. I'll see you tomorrow."

The man nodded as she closed the door.

Liechtenstein didn't know how wrong she was.

…

England calmly leaned back on the headboard of his bed. He deposited the book he'd been reading on the table beside him. In the few peaceful moments that elapsed, he lied in the bed. He was pleased with the silence, because it was bound to be broken by the time his roommate arrived. America was a nuisance. He'd last seen the rambunctious boy with Denmark, who had an even larger ego. Honestly, England sympathized with Norway, who was constantly bothered by Denmark. Scandinavians were hard to understand.

The room was silent save for his breaths and the small chatter outside that he could hear. England closed his eyes, enjoying his temporary solitude. For a few moments he allowed his mind to go blank, forgetting schematics, and plans, and important notes.

And then the silence was shattered.

The blonde jolted and sat up. His eyes darted wildly as his ears caught the loud bang of a gunshot. It sounded close. Really close.

In a matter of seconds, he was out of the bed, and into the hallway. The sound was loud and it had attracted others as well. Wide-eyed, he looked around, only to see everyone else was just as clueless. The sound had been close—to his right, maybe? He wasn't sure, but it was a start.

No one had come out of the room to his right. Whose room was that again?

England's question was answered when he twisted the knob. The door swung open silently amongst the loudness of the surrounding nations. Being too curious for his own good, he rushed into the room.

And stopped.

Inevitably, his eyes fell upon the broken body of France. A gun in his hand, and a hole in his head. Blood spatter streaked the walls, glinting crimson in the light of the rising moon. His blue eyes were closed in peace, and he had fallen to the ground.

Someone finally flipped the light switch. The room was illuminated, and England made out the small red pool of blood forming around France's broken form. England wasn't really good with all of the bodies. His stomach threatened to empty itself, but he simply turned around. He didn't look at the body. Eyes closed, he walked away.

He did his best to ignore the certain pool of blood that somewhat resembled a nine.

A choked sound came from behind England. He made his way towards the door, but twisted around to see the reactions of the others. A small blonde girl stepped towards France cautiously, as though she was in a minefield. And perhaps, in a sense, she was. She was surrounded by a number of volatile nations, each with their own tipping point.

Maybe she had one as well.

"No, no, no…"

This sound came from his front. England turned back around to see Romania at the door. His red eyes were wide, and filled with guilt and something England couldn't place. The red eyed nation was shaking his head, looking distressed. He moved towards the dead body of France.

Romania and Liechtenstein, England confirmed. The only two who seemed to have any terrible reaction to France's death. Though he didn't know how he'd classify his own reaction.

It was terrible. They were the only two who cared, because anyone else who could've cared was dead.

That was just it—that was why he killed himself.

…

It was planned, wasn't it?

…

"God, I can't do this," England muttered quietly. "So many more are going to have to die."

America had seen the body. Maybe he'd never been close to France, but anyone who could've been close to him was dead.

So the American was sitting quietly next to the body, with his head bowed, with China next to him (maybe the Allies could agree every once in a while), Romania across from him, and Liechtenstein kneeling close to him. Prussia and Spain also looked on at the situation with mourning eyes. Those two were easy to figure out. He couldn't piece together why Liechtenstein was sad, but she was, and that was enough reason for Switzerland to put a hand on her shoulder and mourn as well. It was funny to see him do that just because Switzerland had probably put more bullets in France than the Frenchman ever could. Because one was all he needed for suicide.

He helped the others pull the sheet over France's body, then the American walked over to England. The Brit was simply standing near the entrance, sulking or something.

"You okay?" America asked.

England didn't bother to look at him. "Damn frog. Had to go kill himself."

While the taller blonde knew that the smaller was just being angsty, he couldn't help but bristle at the tone England used.

"How can you say that?" America's voice was sharp and cold, but still hushed. "He's dead and you can't even afford to have sympathy! I know you hated him, but is it so hard to just put that aside?"

England retaliated. "Don't speak of what you don't know! You're far too young to get it. I don't need to cry for him. He killed himself because—because—" He stopped.

"Because he's got emotions, too!" America finished for England. "They're dead—you know who—but…but…" A sad look cast itself over the nation's face.

England continued, knowing what he meant. "But we cared too. I mean, I know you cared about your brother, and I did too, but I know France better than you."

"You're too indifferent."

Shocked, the Brit looked up at America. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I get that you really do care, deep down, and you're just not showing it and all that shit, but would it kill you to try? You just don't react ever!"

"I am trying to maintain my composure so that we can try and figure something out in a civilized manner! I have reacted, maybe you just haven't noticed. You think I don't care? You're wrong!"

Their voices were raised, and it was getting noticeable.

"You could at least—maybe I haven't noticed but—they're dead!" America really didn't know how to elaborate.

"Yes, America, they're dead. Because there's someone among us who's a sick person." England was doing it again: sounding terribly calm about the whole ordeal.

"Why? Why would someone do this?" America's voice dropped. And then it rose again. "How many more have to die before it's finally over? Why can't we just find a way out. Why aren't we looking?"

But the shorter, English man was quick on his own rebuttals. England responded loudly. "Just count how many are left, that should do! And do you think we haven't been trying! Every one of us has scoured these halls, just trying to find a way out before they're cut down by faceless psychopath!"

"But—" America didn't have a response.

And then there was nothing else to say. England looked tired, and America didn't say anything.

"Thank god, you two finally shut up!" Switzerland put his gun away, having been about to use it. "You are such idiots!" He really did have no tolerance. His hand was still on Liechtenstein's shoulder, who was still kneeling on the ground. She wasn't doing anything, but she didn't seem ready to move anywhere.

It was then that America and England realized others had been filling out of the room. Some had stayed to watch their argument, but others had left when Switzerland pulled out his rifle.

"This is useless," The blonde was pulling his sister up from the ground, and turning to leave. "We haven't got anything done. We've lost too many." His grip on Liechtenstein was tight—protective—and she clung to him. He moved towards the door slowly, and stopped when he reached it. "If it had to be anyone, England, you've had the greatest grudge against France since forever." Then he left, leaving the accusation floating in the air.

…

Turkey was not calm.

Honestly, people went missing in this mansion far too often. He had absolutely no idea where Egypt was and he couldn't find Japan. He was more worried about the latter, for the reason that Egypt wandered off a lot, and though Japan was quiet, it was typically easy to locate him. He was even looking for Greece! Damned Grecian. Somehow, Japan had roomed with the lazy cat lover instead of him. Lame. Not that there was anything wrong with Egypt!

Anyway. Turkey figured it would be harder to find Greece than Japan. The brunette was probably still snoozing in his room. Lazy bastard.

He'd wandered the halls, not really having any idea where he was going, but asking anyone he ran into. He hoped he would be lucky when he ran into China. The two were like brothers, right? Maybe China knew. The only problem was that the short Chinese man was accompanied by a familiar, tall, scarf-wearing nation.

"Hello, comrade."

Turkey didn't bother to answer Russia.

"Good morning—is it still morning?—Turkey. How are you?" China seemed cheerful.

"Ah hello you two," At least he acknowledged Russia. The masked country then responded to the shorter one. "Have you seen your brother?"

China thought about it for a moment, then said, "Which one? I'm not really sure where Hong Kong is; probably causing trouble with Taiwan or something, and I haven't seen Japan all day." He furrowed his brow with worry. "Why, did something happen to either of them?"

Turkey shook his head. "No, it's just that I've been looking for Japan and I can't find him."

"Well, that's odd." China didn't look placated. "I certainly hope nothing's wrong." Now he was wringing his hands, and a few nervous 'aru's slipped out. "Why don't I help you look for him? You don't mind if I go, do you, Russia?" The Asian country addressed both of the others, but was already moving, tugging on Turkey's arm in a certain direction.

"I don't suppose you know what room Japan's supposed to be in." Turkey said.

China stopped.

"Wait, you mean you haven't looked there yet?"

Turkey didn't say anything.

China sighed. "Let's go check. His is right next to mine."

"No need." Turkey was staring ahead, where Greece had just turned the corner.

"Oh dear…" The raven haired man began walking away when Turkey met Greece's eyes. China knew better than to get between those two. Oh look, they were glaring already. "I'm going to go, you can handle this, yeah." He slipped away quietly, not that anyone noticed him, and caught up with Russia.

"Where's Japan?" Turkey growled. Priorities, of course. They fought all the time.

"He was gone when I woke up." Greece yawned. "I haven't seen him around. Why do you ask? You know he likes me better."

"Not true!" Turkey retorted. "He definitely likes me more. I'm a far better friend than you. Wait—hold on, you're just trying to distract me. Something's up. With Japan. And you know what it is. Where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sure he's just around here somewhere."

"I think you're lying."

"Good thing nobody cares what you think."

"You bastard, tell me what do you know!"

"I don't know where he is!"

"No, there's something shifty about you. I know you're hiding something." The Turk stared at the Grecian, and the two of them started fighting. "Fuck it, Greece, just tell me! I'm his friend, too! If something's up, let me know!"

"Nothing's up!" Greece narrowly avoided a punch aimed at his head. "Quit it!"

"Then tell me what's up!"

"Fine, goddamnit!"

Turkey relented.

"I'm not supposed to tell you, idiot. But since you're a persistent idiot, but ultimately his friend, I'll tell you."

…

"I can't find him anywhere, Hong." Taiwan sniffed.

Hong Kong stopped his conversation with Iceland. The white haired nation was intriguing, and somewhat sadistic. He'd never met anyone as emotionless as himself. Well, he did meet Sweden that one time…

So he broke off his talking with Iceland, telling the boy that they'd talk later, and he pulled his sister away. "Did you check his room?"

Taiwan nodded.

"And he, like, wasn't there?"

Another nod.

"Crap."

And then the taller brunette pulled the girl into a hug, and told her that it was going to be alright.

…

"I don't think you had to say that to England, big brother." Liechtenstein murmured.

"I know, maybe it was rude of me, but it's true. Look around. Nothing at all has happened. People are dying off. We haven't found a way out. We've all been arguing." Switzerland listed facts, not looking at the small blonde next to him. But then he looked at her, and into her green eyes. "I can't let anything happen to you, Liechtenstein."

She smiled into his chest as he pulled her into a rare hug. "I'll be fine, brother, really."

He held her tighter. "Just don't stray out of my sight."

"Have you considered that it's not really one of us?"

Switzerland jolted at her words. "What? But it was said—on that note, and…"

"But it's possible, isn't it?" The girl unraveled herself from his arms, and looked at him seriously. "I mean, people lie. It doesn't have to be one of us."

Switzerland sighed. She totally didn't realize that those two statements kind of opposed each other. It was possible, but he thought his sister was being too hopeful. "I guess so."

And then she smiled at him, and it was worth it.

…

"Let's go find China." Taiwan wasn't crying anymore. Her bright chestnut eyes were hard and unfeeling.

A similar pair of eyes belonged to the boy walking beside her. Hong Kong looped an arm around the girl's shoulders. The pair walked down the halls, headed towards the main hall. It was likely their older brother would be there. Their walk was mostly in silence. Hong Kong could understand Taiwan's distress; she had always preferred Japan, although she also got along with Hong Kong well. Taiwan seemed to be trying to preserve normality in their family. Why, the young man couldn't understand. They were nations—well, he wasn't considered one and neither was she, but that didn't matter—how normal could you get? She was also a bit protective. Korea annoyed her, but she'd been put off by his death. Hong Kong could understand that she wouldn't want Japan, or China, or himself to die too.

For her sake, the male Asian hoped that Japan was fine.

He pulled her along, ignoring the way she gripped his hand too tight. Her nails dug into his skin, but he didn't wince. She was just holding onto what she knew. This was why she needed more friends.

Hong Kong surveyed the people in the room, making out his brother sitting next to Prussia, Denmark, and England. Somewhat of an odd group.

Taiwan made her way over to China, and Hong Kong realized she'd let go of his hand.

"Whoa, wait, Taiwan. What are you going to tell him?" He grabbed her before she got too far away.

"I'll just ask him if he's seen Japan." She was a bit unsteady at the moment, but she knew what to do. "And then I'll tell him later that we couldn't find him. How has no one noticed yet? Doesn't Japan have lots of friends or something?"

"Okay good, and well, I guess you're right, maybe they're, like, busy or something?" At that, Hong Kong looked around for some of Japan's friends. He made out Germany and Italy, who were preoccupied with the loud thing that was Romano, and then…there was those two Turkey and Greece—they were missing. "Let's just go talk to China. Maybe he knows something we don't."

The Taiwanese girl nodded her head, and they were off.

China looked like he was moping again. Prussia laughed and patted him on the back.

Hong Kong had a vague idea of what was going on, but that was unimportant right now. He grabbed his brother's arm and pulled. Taiwan had his other arm and was pulling too. China slid pathetically behind them.

"C'mon, teacher, we wanna talk to you!" Taiwan urged.

"You're pathetic, old man." Hong Kong said stoically.

"Meh, what do you want?" China looked at them lazily. "I don't know where Japan is, and I'm really worried too."

They nearly dropped him. China stood up, removing their hands from his arms, and brushed himself off. "I know you two are worried about him. But it's _Japan_. I'm sure he's just off…" His voice was level. Too calm. "I saw Greece and Turkey, and they were talking about where he was, so maybe they'll find him."

"You're worried sick, aren't you?" It wasn't even a question. Taiwan looked at the old nation pointedly. "You'd never be so calm. You're trying to convince yourself. You're as distressed as I am."

Hong Kong looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt about it. He quietly moved away, knowing he wasn't going to be of any use now, because China was crying, and Taiwan was holding him.

Maybe he'd go find Iceland again. They had more in common than either of them thought.

…

"I don't suppose you've seen Japan." Prussia sat down next to Germany when Italy got up to go to the bathroom.

At the question, Germany looked shocked. "What?"

The albino shook his head. "I'm surprised you didn't notice. Japan's missing. I don't mean like he's dead, but no one's seen him. Nobody can find him."

The younger country sighed. "I guess I just assumed again." He tilted his head shamefully. "This situation's not getting any better. How could I have ignored his absence?"

"Don't worry, West." Prussia put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You were too busy with the Italian bros." He laughed. "I'm sure Japan's fine."

"What's wrong?" Germany asked. Before Prussia could answer, he spoke again. "Don't lie. There's something off about you."

Prussia sighed, but lowered his voice and talked. "I know you're serious about this and all, and I'm with you, West. I mean, it's just—" He paused. "We have to do something. Crazy blonde, trigger-happy, Switzerland is right. But everyone's so secretive, and none of us get along. How are we going to work together? If we could, maybe we could find the killer, or find an exit!"

"Maybe we couldn't." Germany interrupted.

"What?"

"Think about it, if everyone did the same thing, and we all worked together, the enemy would know all of our plans. If you've noticed, individual groups have already formed. People making assumptions about who the killer is, and looking for a way out. Prussia, it could be anyone."

His red eyes widened, and the older nation nodded his head. "I know, West, I do, but—"

"Germany, I'm back!" Italy sat on the other side of Germany at the table. "The bathroom was wonderful!"

The blonde silently brought his palm to his face, and Prussia stood up.

He cackled enthusiastically, having returned to his normal demeanor. "I gotta go now, West," Then he leaned down to whisper something to his brother.

"Don't trust anyone."

Then Prussia was off again, waving as he went. "See you, Italy!" And he left the two sitting there, with Italy telling Germany about his bathroom excursion, hearing the word "pasta" coming up at least once.

…

China wandered the halls. It was late, and normally he would have gone off to sleep already, but he was curious. And worried. The raven-haired nation had two objectives. So far, he'd not completed either of them.

Another locked door stood in front of him. On the first floor of the house, there were a few rooms, but most of the doors were locked. The second floor was just bedrooms and bathrooms. There was a third floor, but so far, no one had found any way to get up there. China remembered seeing three floors when they had first come to the house. Since no one had found a way up, and there were no stairs that led there, he assumed it was an attic or something. He wasn't too sure about that assumption now. It could be useful later on.

The door didn't move when China twisted the knob.

It was these locked doors. They might have something special; something he hadn't accounted for.

China heard a voice. He would have dismissed it, seeing as others were still up, but the words were odd.

"Dammit, this one's wrong too! This goddamn thing's useless!"

China approached.

…

A familiar sound echoed through the empty bedroom as Belarus sharpened her knives. The quiet scraping noise filled her ears. Ukraine was somewhere about, and Belarus was happy with her absence. She seethed as she stared out her open door.

In all honesty, maybe Belarus did envy some people. She supposed she envied the Baltic trio for the amount of attention they received from her brother, and she might have envied her sister because Russia preferred her. But this was different.

Liechtenstein and Switzerland passed by her room, only to turn into the one right next to it. And she could hear them. And it made her _sick_. Their talking was peaceful, intimate, and friendly. They got along so well. They loved each other. Though, not _that _way, of course, but Belarus still hated it.

The way he cared for her, looked after her, and paid attention to her.

Why couldn't Russia be like that?

"Goodnight, big brother."

"Good night, Liechtenstein."

Belarus continued to grind her knives together in solitude.

* * *

><p><strong> AN: Sorry it's late. Blame my editor. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to edit this, so it's probably really shitty. Yeah.  
><strong>

**Thing's will probably be later now, because school has got me in a difficult position. I have less time to write and do fanfiction stuff. I've been working on other fanfictions too (though none of them ever come out the way I intend them to). And I had a bad case of writer's block.**

**I hope you enjoy my rushed chapters. **


	10. Scrutinize

**_CHAPTER 10_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 10: Scrutinize<strong>_

_Learning is a vital skill_

_And looking in the eyes that kill._

_Read into every wink you catch._

_And deeper all the stares you match._

_And every single piece of work_

_Especially the subtle smirk._

* * *

><p>It was late at night, after the day's events. All were already in their rooms, sleeping or trying to, and the mansion was dark. A quiet black haired nation wandered through the halls, stopping in front of another door. This one was just like the rest. But he opened it to reveal bookshelves and small, cushioned chairs. The library was a nice place. It wasn't very large, perhaps a bit larger than a normal room, with shelves lining the walls and sitting in the middle of the room. The man figured that most of the books were useless knowledge, or fiction or whatever. There was quite the variety of literature.<p>

One bare hand ran over a particular set of books. The hand's owner smiled at the selection. He did enjoy this particular American author. A creative man with a knack for rhymes.

This certain nation was looking for something.

But he didn't even know where to look.

…

Finland could really use some vodka right now. Actually, any alcoholic beverage would do the trick. But he preferred vodka. It was way too early for this.

Sighing, he attempted to separate Sweden and Denmark. Norway and Iceland pulled on Denmark while he yanked on Sweden's arm. Finland endured the episode with a small frown. He'd grown accustomed to Denmark's and Sweden's arguments a while ago.

"Come on, now, you beat him." Finland said to Sweden while Denmark protested loudly at his statement. In response to the loud protests, the Swede tried to punch him.

Finland's annoyed look mirrored Norway. "You two are such idiots." Norway sighed exasperatedly.

Denmark whined loudly. "He started it!"

"You're an idiot."

Sweden was certainly a man of silence, but Denmark always had a way of pissing him off. The pair shot insults at each other, the Dane in his boisterous voice, and the Swede through his grumbled English, as they were yanked away from each other. Finland gently reprimanded the tallest Nordic, and Norway not-so-gently scolded the other. It was a repetitive situation. It was all routine to the Finn, as he waved his finger back and forth.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to lose your temper?" Finland chided.

"You're like a child. You're quite annoying." Norway admonished.

Iceland was finding the situation awkward for him. While his brother was busy, he slipped away. He really didn't need his brother attempting to get him to call him "brother." And if there was anything Denmark was good for, it was getting beat up by Norway. Which was a good distraction. It provided an opportunity for him to get away.

Iceland was a solitary nation. It wasn't just his geography, he just wasn't sociable. The few times he tried had always ended up weird.

Perhaps he'd go find that Asian country who seemed to like talking as little as he did.

…

"I was, like, playing Go Fish with Hungary, and she, like, totally cheated!"

Lithuania sighed.

"I mean, I was totally going to win, and then she just, like, had all these cards and stuff and she totally cheated. I know it. That little bitch totally cheated. Just kidding, just kidding, I love her."

Poland ranted.

Lithuania found it hard to understand how Hungary and Poland got along so well. They were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, and yet, they were great friends. They chatted about everything, and Lithuania figured if there was anyone else who could stand Poland besides him, it was Hungary. It wasn't that Poland was bad, just kind of loud, despite being shy around strangers. He was an odd person, but he always defended Lithuania. Well, almost always.

Poland was still ranting. Lithuania smiled fondly.

"And then Prussia pissed her off again, and she totally beat him up! Oh god, Liet, you really should have been there!" Poland laughed loudly, recalling the earlier events of the morning.

The pair was standing in the main hall, doing nothing but talk—well, Poland was talking, and Lithuania was listening. He was a great listener, and he supposed it was a reason that they were such good friends. Poland seemed to well represent the phrase "opposites attract," seeing as how his best friends were Lithuania and Hungary.

And then something incredible happened.

Poland stopped ranting.

Lithuania, who had been staring at the mass of people in the room, turned to look at him with concern.

The blonde was staring at the entrance to the hall, where a short girl was standing alone.

"Say, Liet, that's, like, that girl who's always with Switzerland, right?"

Lithuania turned to look where Poland was indicating. He frowned. Liechtenstein was standing in the absence of her brother. She was just standing there, bashful and sad. His blonde companion was staring at her with an odd intensity.

Liechtenstein must have felt it, because she slid her own green eyes to make contact with Poland's. And neither moved.

Lithuania knew something was wrong. He walked away from Poland, towards the girl. But her eyes were still locked on Poland's. As the brunette approached her, she looked at him. She stepped backwards a bit, her eyes wary and cautious. Lithuania saw the tear tracks on her face, and her puffy eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She stopped moving back, but didn't answer his question. Lithuania felt dread pool in the bottom of his stomach. He already knew the answer.

…

One raven ponytail swished back and forth as China walked. Beside him was a tall character in a long scarf. The pair moved slowly through the deserted halls, speaking in hushed tones.

"Do you really think we are going to find him, China?" Russia asked as China opened another door.

"It's worth a try. I need to find him," The shorter nation walked through the threshold into the library. Without turning, he spoke to the Russian. "Thank you for helping me."

The blonde didn't respond; he didn't really need to, and China knew it. "What if it's better that we don't find him?"

"It could be planned, he could be dead, but I have to try, Russia. Don't you know how I feel? You have siblings." China walked along the edge of the room, running a hand over the spines of books. Many different languages moved under his fingers, the library being quite diverse.

"Actually I was just thinking it might be better if he was dead. One more person you know isn't the killer." Russia smiled, and China bristled. "Weren't you always resentful towards him, anyway?"

The Chinese nation faltered and stopped, his hand falling towards his side. He clenched his fist, and it trembled, but he kept his voice steady. "We have a bad history, but he is my brother. I will not turn my back on someone special to me." China turned around and caught the eyes of the Russian. He tilted his head up to stare into the violet orbs of his former ally. "I do not trust you, Russia. Not for a minute. And I don't believe anyone else here does either. I will defend someone who is special to me. You, however, are not. But you may serve as a temporary ally for as long as we are in here."

Russia smiled crookedly. "It is smart not to trust me, little neighbor. Maybe we just might find your little brother."

They continued to through the library, taking their time. The room was completely empty, and the silence was strong and tense. China walked along the walls, he already knew that Japan wouldn't be found in here, but he wasn't quite ready to leave. Russia perused the opposite side of the room, glancing at a few Russian titles.

"I don't believe you are the killer Russia. I believe that one of us is one, but it is not you."

Russia walked from his side over to China's. The short raven-haired country was resting in a wooden chair, and Russia took the seat beside it. The smaller nation continued.

"Romano. He is up to something. He is hiding something." Golden eyes stared up at the ceiling. Cold, purple ones stared intently at China and neither moved. "Yesterday—last night—I saw him. I don't think his intentions are particularly wrong, but someone else in my position may not think so. He was in possession of an odd item. A key. A key that he had not told us about. In fact, I don't think he's told anyone about it. He didn't see me, but I saw him. I think that, like the others, he is looking for a way out. But I could be wrong. I am often told I am too trustworthy for my own good. But not anymore."

China paused, and Russia interjected. "Why tell me this? Are you worried that something is going to happen? Perhaps you need help. I will always be ready to help you. And you will eventually become one with me." His mouth formed another grin.

The golden eyes moved from the ceiling and bore into the Russian's. "Should I not survive longer than you, someone must know this information. Don't you think that you owe me?" China's voice was low, but they were close, and Russia could hear just fine. "There are some things I cannot tell my family. But they never believed me or believed in me. I want you to look for Japan for me. I am old, and I have a good intuition. I don't think that I am going to survive."

Russia said nothing, but there was hopelessness in China's eyes that made him nod. He pretended not to see the tears that China didn't bother to hide.

Japan was not important to him.

Neither was Romano.

…

She led them through the halls wordlessly. No speech was exchanged, only furtive glances. Liechtenstein was a few paces ahead of them, as if she were still afraid of them. Lithuania was certain he had seen fear in her eyes when he tried to console her. She hadn't spoken a single word to them, but she at least brought them to her room. It was odd to see Poland go quiet for so long. Poland had long since been close to Lithuania, and there was hardly a moment of silence between them.

She stopped in front of a door. She pulled it open, and Lithuania got a look at the red, encircled nine that was drawn on the wood. He did his best to ignore it. Liechtenstein walked in, and towards her brother's bed. Lithuania followed her and Poland behind him. The sheets were awfully red. Liechtenstein looked down directly at what was her brother, Poland looked away, and Lithuania stared. There was a gaping wound in Switzerland's stomach that poured blood around him.

Lithuania realized that Liechtenstein was crying. She was shaking visibly, and Lithuania put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but other than that she didn't react.

"I'm going to go tell everyone else. Stay here, alright?" He whispered low and quiet, and he saw the slightest incline of her head.

He walked over to the exit, passing Poland. He told Poland to stay, and for once, the blonde didn't argue.

It didn't take long for him to get to the main hall, and he passed some others in the hallways. He remained composed as he delivered the news, and he registered the shock on many faces as he told them.

"Oh god, his sister…" Hungary darted out of the room.

Though everyone else wasn't so quick to follow, Lithuania began to return to the room.

…

"So no news from him then?" Turkey sat in Greece's room, on Japan's bed.

Greece shook his head. Japan had not contacted him since he went missing.

"And why did he want to do this again? Didn't he consider that it was dangerous for him?"

Greece eyed the Turk lazily. The man was clearly frustrated. His hands clenched in his lap, and he glared at the Grecian. Greece's own hands twitched silently. He was used to having a cat to pet, or something.

"Bastard. Gonna get himself killed. How the hell could you let him do this?" Turkey looked accusingly at Greece, who sighed.

"He thought he might be able to find the killer if he went missing. I just know that he did on purpose. I don't know where he is right now." The lazy brunette lied back against the headboard of his bed. He closed his eyes.

"I just hope he knows what he's doing." Turkey stopped glaring for a few moments and cast his gaze to the floor.

"I think for once I agree with you, Turkey."

Turkey laughed loudly. "Hell no."

…

"Shit…"

Finland didn't react when Romano cursed right next to him. He stared at the bloody mass of what used to be Switzerland. A limp, pale corpse lied on the bed. He anxiously shifted his glance at Liechtenstein. She looked sad but it wasn't his place to console her. Her head was tilted and she stared intensely at the ground. Her fists tightened at her side, and she stepped back. She lifted her glare from the floor and eyed everyone else in the room. Then, with a frustrated look, she tore out of the room.

Finland understood that she needed someone who her brother had a close relationship with. But Switzerland was too introverted, only ever being close to Liechtenstein or Austria.

Hungary was fast after the blonde girl, though, and the awkward tension eased a little.

Finland closed his eyes. He let out a silent breath and tilted his head back to face the ceiling. He just needed a break. Finland felt cold, blue eyes boring into him and he opened his own eyes to look at Sweden. The tall nation's stare was as icy and scary as always, but Finland could see that it held a little concern and question. He smiled. "I'm fine, Sweden."

Sweden seemed convinced enough by his assurance.

Finland decided to exit the room then. He felt kind of bad for leaving first, but he had no affiliation with Switzerland, and no reason to stay. With his hands jammed into his pockets, he walked out the door. He was surprised when Sweden didn't immediately follow him. Finland frowned as he walked through the hallways. Every now and then, he'd try and open a door, not caring if it was someone's room. Most were just rooms anyway. Bored, he put his hand on the next knob, but stopped. As quietly as he could, he leaned into the door to catch the voices that were coming from the inside. Actually—he only heard one voice.

…

Two pairs of green eyes clashed. Liechtenstein quietly admired the older female's eyes, ignoring the fact that they were somewhat similar to Poland's. That guy just confused her in every single way.

"You can talk to me, Liechtenstein." Hungary spoke kindly.

But the girl didn't speak. Liechtenstein opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Hungary seemed to understand this and nodded. "Oh it's alright," She pulled something from her pocket. "Here, use this." She shoved the pen and notepad into the blonde's hands.

Liechtenstein looked up in confusion. She pointed at the notepad, on the top page where it said "Hungary sucks—"

Said brunette blushed, and ripped the page off. "Sorry, I swiped the page and pen from Romania. He was being a douche again."

Liechtenstein simply nodded her head before taking the pen and pad again. She scrawled in small neat letters.

_I'm scared._

"Why?"

_Last night, I had some trouble falling asleep. And I saw someone._

"What? Who did you see? Wait—you mean when Switzerland—?"

Liechtenstein nodded before writing again.

_I didn't get a clear view, I just saw a silhouette. All I could make out was a body and short hair. I nearly died of fright. _

"Jesus, Liechtenstein, don't worry, we'll figure this out." Hungary got a panicked look as Liechtenstein started crying. "Don't cry, come on, I'm right here, you're fine."

_I should've done something. _

Hungary didn't see this note, but she comforted the small girl anyway. "Don't worry," Her arms encircled Liechtenstein's thin torso. She brought the blonde's face into her shoulder and murmured through her hair. "There's nothing you could've done. You could've gotten killed." She hugged Liechtenstein tighter when the girl began to tremble violently. "Shhh…"

They stayed like that for a while, oblivious to the person standing on the other side of the door.

…

Belarus glared viciously at the corpse. Something about it was off. She was shocked to find that she was the last one in the room. But she still glared. Lifeless green eyes reflected her glare. Her hand twitched as it rested on her thigh, just over her knife. She was always the best at hiding knives.

She hissed under her breath. "Why? Why couldn't my brother treat me like how you treat your sister?"

Her platinum hair moved through the air gracefully as she turned to leave. Briskly, her feet moved towards the door.

"Are you alright, sister?" Ukraine didn't flinch when Belarus glared. "You were in there a while, and I just wanted to make sure…"

"I'm fine, Ukraine." Her voice was cold and stoic as ever, but she'd stopped glaring. "I'm going to go find brother, now. Don't follow me."

Belarus turned on her heel and sauntered away, ignoring the hurt look on her sister's face.

…

"We're changing some of our rooms—just so no one's alone tonight."

"Jeez, it sounds so dirty when you say it like that, West—OW!"

Germany silently thanked Hungary, who was smirking at Prussia, who was clutching his head in pain.

"Anyway, Liechtenstein, you're just going to have to change rooms. You can choose wherever you want to go, because we're still missing Japan, which opens Greece's room."

Liechtenstein nodded in response, still clutching Hungary's arm. It was just the four of them walking through the halls. Prussia and Germany broke off on one hallway to go to their own rooms while Hungary walked with Liechtenstein.

They arrived in front of a room—Liechtenstein had already decided to take Cuba, the other two choices being Romania and Greece.

"Will you be alright for the night? You are always free to come to my room. Taiwan won't mind." Hungary smiled at the girl, and Liechtenstein nodded her confirmation.

"Well alright then. I'll see you tomorrow."

The blonde then walked into the room, and Hungary made her way back to her own room. It wasn't that far and she got there quickly. Taiwan was already there, lying in her bed.

"Is she alright?" The Asian asked.

"She'll be fine. She's just been traumatized. I guess that's what happens when you're that close to someone. They had a tight bond." Hungary sat down on the mattress of her bed.

"You're a good person, Hungary," Taiwan said. "And a good friend."

"Well so are you."

Taiwan grinned. "Thanks. Us girls have to stick together, right?"

"Of course."

…

Another quiet night, it was. One man with short hair walked through the halls again. Again, he stopped in front of the library door. And he pulled it open. And that night, he would be unsuccessful in finding what he was looking for. But he looked anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just pretend I put it on hiatus for a bit. It's late, but I was bombarded with dumb work from dumb teachers. **

**Sorry. But not really. I'll try harder. Really. **


	11. Fallacies

**_CHAPTER 11_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 11:<strong>_ _**Fallacies**_

_Lies are made to give and take._

_Lies are made to change and fake._

_Lies are for the fruitless tries._

_Lies are for the prying eyes._

_Lies are what we do in need._

_Lies are what we hear and heed._

* * *

><p>"I'm fine, man!" Prussia exclaimed. "Quit bothering me! Seriously, what's up with you?"<p>

Spain poked his friend again. "I don't know, you just seem off, Prussia." His brow was furrowed and his mouth set in a serious line. "And you look tired. And you haven't been as loud. You're _always_ loud. And annoying, but that's not the issue right now. If something's up, just tell me!"

Prussia stared incredulously at Spain for a few seconds. "…You think I'm annoying?"

"Is that _all_ you got from that?" Spain groaned and threw his hands up. "Fine. If you don't want to talk to me, whatever. I'm gonna go find Romano."

"Well then." The albino huffed. "The awesome me does not require your company anyway."

Spain laughed as he left. For now he'd ignore the dark lines under Prussia's eyes and the general odd behavior. "Glad to see you're back to normal, Prussia."

Romano was right outside the door when he left. As Spain exited Prussia's room, the Italian greeted him. "Hey asshole. What'd the potato bastard want?"

Still smiling, Spain answered. "Oh nothing; I just wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Potato fucker still seems as idiotic as ever."

"You know, Prussia's not that bad, Romano." Spain put his hands in his pockets as he began walking. Romano followed behind him, and neither met each other's eyes as they conversed.

Romano scoffed at his statement. "Go on, I implore you. No really. Tell me all about how Prussia 'is not that bad.'" He made air quotes as he spoke.

A laugh was elicited from the Spaniard. "I think you're just unwilling to accept that anyone in this world is a good person." And then his voice became serious again. "Although, in our current situation, I can see why you would be like that." Spain stared ahead with blank eyes. A sigh released itself from his lips and his shoulders sagged.

There was a quiet minute of silence before Romano reacted. He punched Spain lightly in the arm and frowned. "Hey, quit getting all dreary and crap. The day you become a downer is the day I quit cursing. I don't seriously hate the world, and I don't necessarily hate the people I yell at." He turned away from Spain, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I'm sure things'll turn out fine in the end."

"Yeah Romano. I'm sure things will be just fine."

And Spain pretended not to notice the similar lines under Romano's eyes that indicated a lack of sleep. And he didn't acknowledge that he didn't believe Romano at all.

…

"Bitches love me."

"Now is neither the time nor place for that, Denmark."

"Come on, man, you know it's true. They're all over me like Asian's to eggrolls."

"That was not only extremely offensive, but incredibly inaccurate."

"…How the hell did we get to this topic again?"

China casually sipped his tea. "I honestly have no idea, Norway." He stared pointedly at the third member of the conversation. "I don't know how you Nordics operate." Then he meticulously scanned the room. His sight swept over each conversation and individual.

Norway didn't respond, but carefully watched China's movements. The trio was silent for a moment. Norway didn't reply when Denmark started on another random tangent. Instead, the blonde stood and made a move to leave. China didn't acknowledge him as he left and Denmark just continued rambling. As he walked away, he looked back at the two. Somehow, the Asian had stopped sulking and struck up a conversation with the Dane.

Norway rolled his eyes. Those two could whine about their miserable lives with each other. One small smirk found itself on his face. He had a plan.

Now was the time to be prepared. He wasn't ready to die just yet.

…

A white mask sat on a small table, casting a funny shadow with the sunlight. In one movement, two gloved fingers picked it up and placed it on its owner's face. Turkey stretched out of bed far later than he normally would have.

In a few, quick motions, he pulled himself up and towards the door. Egypt was long gone; probably to do some more exploring that would prove futile. Turkey thought that the African nation was too introverted. It never killed anyone to open up and talk to someone.

He closed the door on his way out and started down the hall. He passed by a few people as he walked, and he didn't bother to stop to talk to them. He wasn't always loud, but he didn't like being quiet. A tune found its way to his lips and he hummed a tune to a song he didn't remember the title of. He nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets. It was somewhat peaceful during the day, when none of the nations had to be around each other. No one really got along that well. That was an understatement. Turkey hardly got along well with any of the other nations.

Silently he cursed Greece. His brain had suddenly started him onto the topic of Japan's disappearance. The innocent guy had thought it would be smart to sneak off and find the killer himself. Turkey was certain that Greece had influenced Japan. Never trust Grecians.

He passed by two more people. One was chatting animatedly and ignored him, but the other stared at him as he walked. New Zealand flashed him a smile and Belgium continued talking. Turkey silently noted their close bond. The pair had never even met before. So why were they so close?

He sped up his pace as he caught sight of a sleeping brunette through an open door to a room.

…

"Well what do you think of him?" Belgium glared at nothing while leaning on a door frame.

"I dunno. He doesn't seem especially suspicious, but Turkey's never had that great relations with everyone." A smaller, androgynous figure stood next to the Belgian girl. New Zealand brushed a piece of his/her bangs off to the side. His/her hair needed to be cut. The blonde would have to try something later. He/She looked at Belgium. "England. I don't trust him."

Belgium snorted. "I think you're a bit spiteful. As much of a jerk he is, I don't think England's done anything. Not Russia either. He's just too innocent to. Besides, he's more of a sadist than a straight up killer. I thought it might be someone we'd never expect. Someone innocent. But then I can't go anywhere with that. Liechtenstein would never kill her brother." Belgium's green eyes narrowed as she looked out of the corner of her eye. "And you'd never kill yours."

New Zealand shifted noticeably and responded with the same words.. "And you'd never kill yours." Then the nation sighed. "Let's see…what about Romano. You said you didn't trust him."

"It's not that I don't trust him," The girl looked away. "But he had something, something! It was a key, I think. It was tiny, and I saw him take it. A window on the second floor. There was some kind of hidden compartment. I only saw him for a second, but I saw him. And he didn't see me." She jerked suddenly. "Someone's coming."

Almost immediately, New Zealand shifted his/her stance, and looked at Belgium. "I'll say it now, Belgium: I want revenge and so do you. So we're going to find who did this, and we're going to put them through hell."

And the two began a conversation about each other's cultures as Poland walked by with Lithuania.

…

"Ugh, Liet, England wanted to, like, cook this morning, and it took three of us just to get him away from the stove." Poland waved one delicate hand in the air as they passed by two people. "Seriously, I don't know he's in denial or what, because he totes sucks at cooking." The blonde male sighed dramatically. "Thank God China was there to make us food. France was a really good cook."

Lithuania disregarded the topic of the deceased and tried to bring Poland to a new subject. "So uh, do you have any ideas about anything?"

"What do you mean, Liet." Poland's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Um, sorry, I didn't mean to—" Lithuania stuttered and tried to apologize.

Poland just waved it off. "Relax, Liet. If you really wanna know, I've got nothing. I haven't the slightest clue who this silly serial murderer could be." He paused. "Wow, it sounds, like, really weird to call it that. I know my life's in danger and crap, but I feel fine." But his expression read something different. Poland's head was slightly tilted away from his companion's to hide his calculating gaze.

Lithuania sighed in relief. "Well alright. I'm glad you're not freaking out or anything." He looked ahead, not catching Poland's subtle glances.

"Yeah, I am like, this giant pillar of calmness, you know. Like, I am just so fine I don't even know." Poland laughed. "I'm fine, don't worry yourself over me. What about you though? You doin' alright?" Poland asked with genuine concern.

Lithuania looked troubled. The brunette avoided Poland's eyes. "I'm fine." A smile crossed over his face. As they came to the entrance to the main hall, Lithuania turned to his friend. "Hey I'm just going to go find Belarus now, you want to come?"

Poland chuckled. "To see that bitch? Heck no."

Lithuania scowled at his statement, but said nothing.

Poland didn't quite hate Belarus, she was pretty enough, but he hated it when Lithuania chased after him and she always shot him down. The smile on Poland's face was replaced by look of distaste as Lithuania walked away. He thought that his friend could do better. Lithuania _deserved_ someone better. And there was nothing that Poland despised more than when his silly Lithuanian companion told him all about that stupid beautiful Belarusian girl.

But Poland had decided a while ago that if by some chance, Belarus and Lithuania ever got together, he'd be supportive.

He turned in the opposite direction that Lithuania had scampered off to, and walked.

He headed towards the library, having no intention to read, but just to find a place of solitude. They were nice places. Libraries. Even if he read little, and he wasn't the brightest, he liked little quaint things like libraries sometimes. Not that anyone else knew. Though Lithuania had found him a few times in a library.

When he reached the room, though, he experienced a mild shock. There was one other person in there, and she had her nose in a book about Russian geography.

Poland scowled at Belarus and moved to the other side of the library. Hadn't Lithuania been looking for her? The platinum-haired girl noticed him come in and glanced at him. For as much as Poland hated her, he still shied away when she looked at him. She glared across the room and he turned away.

Silently, he scanned the shelves, his eyes glazing over the names of the books. He finally pulled down a thin novel after a minute of consideration. But as he sat down into a comfy chair, he couldn't concentrate.

She kept looking at him. Belarus. She kept a wary notice on him the entire time. He sank deeper into the chair until her constant glances became unbearable.

"Hey? Russia's sister. Do you, like, have a problem with me or something?"

When Belarus looked at him this time, she glared with such ferocity that he flinched. She stayed quiet for a few moments, but she eventually broke the silence.

Speaking low, she asked him, "What do you have to do with Liechtenstein?"

Poland racked his brain for any connection Belarus had with Liechtenstein, but came up with none. So why was she curious? He himself had no personal connection to Liechtenstein, though the day previous she had been afraid of him. Or it had at least seemed that way. As Poland thought deeply, Belarus grew impatient. She pulled a dagger from the folds of her dress and he realized she'd been waiting.

"What's it to you?" He replied pathetically. He kept an eye on her knife, not her face. He figured it was wiser to do that.

Confirming his earlier suspicions, Belarus answered smoothly, "She's terrified of you," The girl took a few steps towards Poland, causing him to squirm. "And I want to know why."

…

"You're not to trust him, Lithuania." Estonia calmly said. He clasped his hands in his lap and leaned back in his chair.

Lithuania was sitting next to him, and objected immediately. "Estonia, you don't understand, Poland wouldn't do anything like that!" He looked to the third member of the conversation for help. But Latvia shook his head.

"No Lithuania, you don't understand. We're doing this together, and we can't trust him. I know he's your friend, but so are we. We are a trio. We cannot be divided." Latvia looked at him with sympathy. "You desperately want to include him in everything you do, and he's far too innocent. He doesn't take any of this seriously. Either that or he's an excellent liar." With that, the short male stood up and moved to the exit of the room. Latvia paused at the door. "You think it's unfair. That he's perfectly trustworthy. Because you've known him forever. Let me tell you that it's very easy for someone to go insane in a short period of time. The Poland you know may not be the one that you see now. You can't trust everyone who doesn't treat you like shit." It suddenly became noticeable that the boy was shaking. "You can't just trust everyone who treats you like a human being. Because people lie." Before leaving, he turned to glare one last time at the two others. "We need to trust only each other."

He closed the door on his way out, and Lithuania and Estonia were left with bitter silence.

"I get Latvia, I know why he acts the way he does, but I can't just break my trust in someone like Poland. It shouldn't be such a difficult decision to trust him." Lithuania spoke, but he wasn't looking at Estonia.

The blonde replied, though he was also looking at the empty space Latvia left. "You don't have to cease talking to him or trusting him, Lithuania. You just have to trust us more. And watch your back." Then he twisted to look at the brunette. "Latvia understands some things better than you. Sometimes the liar is the one you least expect."

The two fell then fell into a silence so icy, an atmosphere so tense that it fell heavily on both of them, and Estonia finally left without another word.

With both gone, Lithuania clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. He did not move from his position, but he trembled slightly.

And they all fell apart.

…

A knife was wrenched out of Denmark's back without a sound.

And he fell, never getting a glance at his daytime killer.

And he fell.

…

Norway did not realize he was crying. There was an unfamiliar substance rolling down his cheeks, and he didn't bother to acknowledge it. Denmark was gone, with a wound in his back and his face in the carpet. The number ten was written on the wall in the same red color as the rest of them.

Norway helped them move the body. At this point, the office where they first found Bulgaria's body had become the depository for the corpses. It was pathetic, Norway realized as he looked down at the row of bodies. Bulgaria. South Korea. Australia. Austria. Seychelles. Monaco. Netherlands. Canada. France. Switzerland. And Denmark. One by one, each of them fell.

No progress had been made on finding an exit, or in finding the killer.

And it was incredibly frustrating.

For each one that was killed, for each day they made without progress, another body filled the room. Another bloody number appeared on the walls.

The blonde left the room as soon as they had dropped the body. He didn't want to look at it. He didn't want to feel guilty for something he couldn't have stopped. So he left. The tears were long dried, and there was no sign of sadness on his face. He walked away. He walked past America, Prussia, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and everyone else. Because they simply wouldn't understand why he felt guilty. Amongst all the harsh words and the scolding and the violence, Denmark had been his friend.

Suddenly Norway was not sure where he was going. His feet were carrying him in an unknown direction, and he wasn't sure what to think of it. He let them carry him, and he realized then where he was going. He was looking for answers.

They didn't stop when they reached China's room. They continued walking into the room, where the short man was standing inside.

"Oh hello, Norway! What are you doing here?" His voice was light and high, and he was smiling kindly.

In a voice that did not sound like his own, Norway answered. "Why? Why do I feel guilty?"

China was fully aware of the situation, and in his long life, he'd been asked the same question by many people. Like every other time, he responded with a question. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I…I don't know. I thought you would have some wisdom for me or something. Because you're so old."

China sighed. "I can't answer for you, Norway. You're old too, you know. We all are. You are perfectly capable of figuring it out yourself."

Norway gritted his teeth. "I fucking can't, alright? I can't fucking figure it out!"

"Do you know how easy it is for one to succumb to insanity, Norway? How quickly it happens? Perhaps you just haven't experienced enough loss in life, eh? You're guilty because you think you could've stopped it if you had been there, isn't that right? Or is it because you refused to treat him like a friend? Every single time he tried to talk to you, or tried to be your friend, you responded with harshness or indifference. Is that it? In the small amount of time we've been here, I've learned a lot. You knew he would be killed off eventually, but you did not prepare. Did you? How much longer until your own brother is stabbed, shot, or hung?" China took a step towards him. "How much longer will it be until you have to understand?"

Norway lost his façade. China was purposefully goading him, purposefully taunting him.

And it got to him.

China didn't react when Norway pulled a knife from his pocket.

"You always keep that with you, do you?" The elder nation turned around. "What are you going to do with it?"

"How long did you say it took for a person to become insane, China? How long?" He took a step towards the brunette.

"Stop it."

Norway was surprised, to say the least. Belarus stood in the doorway, with her cold eyes locked on China's back.

She spoke to Norway, but continued looking at China. "Get out."

When he didn't move, her arm jerked. Something glinted in the air and a knife embedded itself in the wall behind Norway.

She stared at him. "Get the fuck out. Now."

Norway scrambled to leave before she went psycho on him.

…

"So you're here."

"You've been spending too much time with him."

"We're not even friends. We're just allies."

"I don't like it."

"You're only doing this because you can get away with it here."

"They might figure out it was me, but what do I care? You are in the way of me and my brother."

China laughed. "Your brother will never be able to reciprocate your love, Belarus."

She drew her knife. "It doesn't matter. I just want to be with him forever."

And China didn't move when she did, and he barely reacted when she stabbed him. Four thousand years was a long time to live.

And he fell.

…

"Papa?"

Sweden looked down at Sealand, walking next to him.

"Don't you'd think that everyone would've noticed a bunch of missing nations by now? Why hasn't anyone found us?"

Sweden sighed. "I don't know," And in truth he had no idea. Surely people would have come looking by now. Along in the hallway, he leaned over and picked the boy up. "I just don't know, Sealand."

"That's okay. I'm sure they'll come eventually."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry, I had to put it on hiatus cause life was asdfghjkl; **

**yeah. And this is up unedited, so it's probably shit, but kjahf. yeah. I'm sorry. Plus I had to rewrite the other chapters and crap. Nobody had any objections to making New Zealand a guy, right? **

**Awesome. Sorry it's late and it sucks but I sfj and I haven't been writing enough poetry recently. **

**Nyeh. **

**Oh and no, Belarus is not the killer. That would be far too predictable. But she may get to kill a few more people before she's killed. I don't know. I had a bunch of notes and shit, but they got jacked by some random fuckass. **


	12. Pretend

**_CHAPTER 12_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Step 12: Pretend<strong>_

_Take one step closer; one step nearer_

_Then you lash out, break the mirror_

_Glass shatters, not that you care_

_You're too far gone to give or share_

_And I am just a passerby_

_Watching you fall as you finally die._

* * *

><p>She yanked the knife out of his back as he fell.<p>

His expression was calm, and he wore something that was almost a smirk. With his own, golden eyes, he gazed up at her. Blood pooled around him, and in his last moments, he held that half-smirk for her. His lips didn't open and his eyes dulled. His chest stopped moving. The only movement in the room was the twitching of his fingers. Blood dribbled out of the side of his mouth. She watched it roll down his face and neck, and join the rest of the red liquid on the floor. The blood glinted in the light of the rising moon.

And she glared. For a while, she did not move from her position. And then, gracefully, she let the knife slip from her fingers and clatter to the ground. It fell right next to his body, in the puddle of blood.

And then she woke up. Belarus jerked and realized what she was doing. She stopped stalling and bent over. She carefully dipped two fingers into China's blood and drew an eleven on the back of his right hand. She laid it on his chest, over his left hand. She realized that she was running out of time. Not that people might look for her, but Russia would be back to talk to China and go to sleep. And someone might wonder where China has gone. She stood up straight, posed herself, and wiped the blood off her hands with the nearby bed sheets. She left the room confidently, and fortunately, there was no one in the hallways as she exited.

Briskly, she moved. Belarus found her brother in the main hall. Sneaking up on him, she pulled gently on his scarf.

"Brother, won't you marry me?" She asked once he turned.

In response, Russia shrieked.

"No!"

He tried to get away from her, but she wrapped her arms around him. She mumbled into his large coat. "I love you, brother." She continued to murmur nonsensical marriage proposals into Russia's back, and the tall man gave a pleading look towards the person he'd been talking to a few moments ago.

Ukraine smiled fondly at the pair and pried Belarus off of her brother.

"C'mon, Bela, let's go now."

As the girl let go, Russia stepped away from her. He darted out of the room, and Belarus frowned.

"He always runs away." She murmured. She let out a sigh and reluctantly allowed Ukraine to pull her out of the room.

Said large-breasted girl attempted to make conversation with her sister, but Belarus didn't speak. She walked stiffly, turned away from Ukraine. The sigh Ukraine made was blatantly audible, and when Belarus still didn't react, the older girl frowned. Visibly. And not one of her sad, tired frowns, but one that was of anger. Something like frustration alighted on her lips, and she spoke.

"Do you have to be such a terrible sister all the time?" It wasn't something she would have normally said. "Do you not care? Everything you do is for him. Never me or anyone else who seems to care for you. Do you not realize we're here or are you too blinded by your own damn _unrequited_ _love? Can you not see I try?_" She didn't know what she was saying. All she could do was shriek and force back the stinging at her eyes.

In the very least, she finally got Belarus's attention. The platinum blonde turned, and her gaze was as stone cold as before. Her mouth was set in a firm line. When she finally opened her mouth, she realized that they had an audience.

Estonia was gaping at the two girls, and standing stationary in the middle of the hallway. The man jumped as a knife grazed his cheek.

"Leave." Belarus commanded, and Estonia scrambled to get away.

Ukraine was shocked when Belarus grabbed her arm and began pulling her.

She asked her sister, "Where are we going?" And she wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer. But she still allowed Belarus to yank her through the hall until they arrived at their shared room. There was no one around, but Belarus brought Ukraine into the room and closed the door anyway. She sat down on the edge of her bed and stayed still for a few moments. She opened it, and then closed it.

Ukraine sat next to her. She gently lifted an arm and laid it over Belarus's shoulders. It was immediately shrugged off, and Belarus looked at her. Just looked. It wasn't a glare, or a look of sadness, and definitely not one of happiness, but a mere stare. Ukraine held it, not knowing what to do with it.

The silence was thick and heavy and pushed down on them hard. Ukraine let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when Belarus finally shattered the silence.

"I don't need you."

Ukraine broke. Belarus's eyes were ice, and her tone was just as cold. The elder didn't even try to stop the flow of tears as she stood up furiously. She couldn't say anything, she just glared at her sister. Ukraine wouldn't believe for a second that her sister was as heartless as everyone said, but she still tore out of the room.

Halfway down the hall, almost back in the main hall, she paused. Her sister was important to her, even if Belarus never returned any love. She argued with herself for five minutes before turning around and walking back towards the room. She cursed herself for being so damn easy to break. And for going back. She should have just left Belarus alone. But she was already on her way back, and she was almost to the room.

Ukraine paused at the door. She thought she heard sounds coming from inside of it. Crying sounds. But Belarus certainly didn't cry.

The door opened slowly, with no noise, and Ukraine peeped in.

The room was completely empty.

Ukraine cocked her head to the side in confusion. Belarus had been in here a few minutes ago…. And then Ukraine listened for the crying sounds again. She heard them, but they were coming from somewhere on her right. The room to her right was the bathroom. She exited the room to go to the other one. She didn't enter the bathroom, but she stood outside of it, and she could hear the whimpers coming from inside it.

"Dammit…" The voice was unmistakably Belarus's, and Ukraine was shocked at how it shook. She wanted to go in and comfort her sister, but she knew it would only make things worse. She shouldn't have come back.

She sighed and walked away.

…

The mirror shattered under her fist. Blood ran down her pale wrist as glass embedded itself in her hand. Her head was tilted forward, and she relished the sight of her blood dripping into the sink. Her hair hung low, her long blonde locks sticking to the side of the basin. She barely registered the pain in her hand or the stains that the blood was leaving on her dress. She needed to get out.

And Belarus _giggled_. A sadistic smile stretched her face as she reminisced in the earlier events of the day. She recalled wrenching the knife out of China's back, and the initial stabbing. It wasn't the stabbing that made her smile. It was the fact that it was China, and that man had captured too much of dear brother's attention. She didn't like it when people got in between her and Russia. Killing them now was better than any other time because she could get away with it. With a loose killer and too many desperate people, no one would figure out it was her.

She finally drew her hand away from the mirror. Shards of glass clattered on the floor and in the sink, some still stuck in her flesh. She took some time to pick the bits out of her hand, then attempted to wipe the blood off of her arm and take the stains out of her sleeve.

After a while of these fruitless attempts, she turned around and opened the door a tiny bit. She had heard someone coming down the hall. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was her brother. Belarus was about to step out into the hall, when Russia spoke up.

He addressed someone walking towards him, whom Belarus hadn't seen. "Ah, hello, Latvia!"

Belarus growled. It just had to be Latvia. The Baltic States attracted quite a bit of Russia's attention, and Belarus didn't like it at all. She didn't reveal her presence, but watched as the two "engaged" in conversation.

Latvia was practically hyperventilating while Russia emitted a happy, but dangerous aura. For every step Latvia took away from Russia, the larger man took one closer. Belarus scowled. Russia ought not to be paying so much attention to the others. She was always willing to give anything to him, to help him, but he sought out other people. Like the Baltics. Like China and America and the others.

She heard a cry from Latvia, but she had turned and was now leaning on the door. She'd make the smallest Baltic pay.

…

America kept his hand on Latvia's shoulder as he walked him towards the main hall.

"Dude, what were you doing with Russia? Seriously, the commie's a freak." America grinned at the small nation. "If he's harassing you, you just come to me and the hero will take care of it! You betcha! I could beat that Russian bastard any day." He flashed his trademark grin at Latvia, but abandoned him as soon as they reached the large hall.

He found Prussia in a corner of the room, nursing an injury. America didn't even acknowledge the injury, but stood next to "the awesome" Prussia.

"Ugh, I'm so bored, man." America groaned. "Can't we go mess with people or something?"

Prussia grinned. "It only depends on who you wanna mess with," He cast a glance around. "Who's the most fun to mess up?"

The blonde shrugged. "Hey, you feel up to messing with the commie bastard? He's been bothering everyone recently. Plus he's a weirdo."

"Heck no, like I'd ever get near that stupid Russian. He's psycho. Crazy. I swear he's going to kill us all." Prussia shuddered visibly. "If you wanna mess with him, leave me out of it."

America laughed. "You're just scared of him."

The white-haired ex-nation bristled. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Not at all," America replied. "I, of course, have never felt fear, so I'll let you say what you want."

Then Prussia smirked. "Oh really? Is that why you hate ghosts so much?"

In response, America stuttered and scowled. "I'm not scared of ghosts, stupid! I just don't like them!"

Prussia's familiar cackle rang out, and America continued to scowl. Ignoring Prussia's leers, he decided to walk away. He left the hall, intending to find Russia, and maybe start a fight. America started down the hall where he'd just been, and he'd rescued Latvia. As he walked, he caught sight of someone turning a corner. A scarf hung down and disappeared from sight.

America grinned.

He turned the corner and jogged to catch up with the taller nation.

"Hey, Russia, how're you doing?" He called out.

Russia turned and greeted America like always. "Hello, America, you seem as delightfully stupid as ever."

America laughed. "Oh you flatter me, commie. Anyway, how's Latvia? You seemed like you were enjoying his presence a few minutes ago. Also, how're your sisters?" The blond glared but smiled mockingly.

Russia returned the sneer with his own twisted smile. "Oh they're just fine. They're so much fun to play with, you know? And my sisters are fine, doing especially well as long as they can avoid scum like you."

"Your sister's still hot."

"Which one?"

America chuckled. "Ukraine. Obviously. Belarus is cute, but a freak. Though that must be because she grew up with you. I was a better brother to her than you ever were. Seriously dude, your sisters are just strange."

Russia didn't reply. America frowned and looked at him. "Dude what the heck is wrong—"

Russia had opened the door to his room and was staring inside. He was silent. America also got a glance inside the room.

Someone was lying in a pool of blood, and all he could make out was long, black hair and pale skin. The clothes of the body were reddened and there was only one wound, which was actually visible amongst all the blood. A silver knife was lying off to the side.

"Who…" He sputtered.

Russia ignored. He took two long strides into the room, past the body, and he bent over to pick up the bright dagger off the ground. He seemed to have completely forgotten about America's presence, because he was staring at it inquisitively and he spoke out loud to no one.

Ignoring the blood seeping into his gloves and the puddle in which he was currently standing, he said, "This belongs to my sister."

This time, the question of which sister the statement described was not needed to be asked, but America was still curious about something.

"Is that—"

Russia cut him off, directing his words at the dead body. "Who did this to you, China?"

America ran out without another word.

…

"Fucking hell." Romano muttered.

He was one of the first to get to Russia's room after America had come bolting in to announce that someone else was dead. From his previous location, it didn't take Romano too long to deduce who was dead. China was lying on the floor when Romano saw him. Russia had stayed with the body while people came in and left.

China's injury was simple, but fatal. One knife in the back, and that was that. Romano was a bit woozy at all the blood, but death wasn't new to him, and he had more important things to do.

Which included keeping certain people away from the spectacle. As he left the room, he saw two familiar Asians making their way down the hall.

"Shit, shit, shit, I gotta keep them away," He walked down the hall to meet them, but he had no clue as to whether they knew who was dead yet. It was a stupid thing to do, because they'd wind up sad anyways. Someone was bound to tell them. But he was Romano, and he never thought about things too hard.

"Hong, who was it this time?" Taiwan asked her brother.

Romano freaked. They were getting closer.

"We're almost there Taiwan. You'll see soon enough," Hong Kong was staring at the ground, and didn't see Romano approach. "You shouldn't be so curious about it anyway."

Taiwan retorted, "But you know we have to—" She was cut off as Romano ran into them.

He crashed into Hong Kong, and the two hit the ground.

"Oh, hey, sorry about that, I was just…" Romano failed to finish his sentence. "Hey, you guys, you know, you don't really need to go see that. It's, um, messed up."

Hong Kong straightened as he stood up. "Oh really? Well who was it then, spare us the trouble of checking the body."

The hesitation of Romano gave it away. Hong Kong ducked his head and fell back into a slouch.

"It's…well…" Romano didn't have the heart to say it, and he was afraid of their reactions.

Hong Kong frowned. Taiwan hadn't caught on yet.

"That's what I thought." The Asian male pushed Romano out of the way and pulled Taiwan towards Russia's room. As an extra thought, he asked, "By the way, have you seen China?"

Taiwan finally realized it at the moment her brother pushed open the door to the room.

From outside, Romano heard her burst into tears. Hong Kong was in and out in a les than a minute, and Romano got once glimpse of a grimace on his face before his mouth was set into a familiar apathetic line.

…

Estonia had already known something terrible was going on with Belarus. He'd seen her earlier, when she was walking with Ukraine, and he noticed she was greatly bothered by her sister's words.

And here he was, confronting her.

"Get away from him." He said to Belarus, as she threatened Latvia. She held in her hand a familiar silver knife, and it was only so familiar because he had to live with her before. He couldn't stand her. He couldn't stand the way she followed Russia around like a puppy, and her constant abuse of him, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Latvia was unconscious. Belarus had a knife on his throat. There were already lacerations scattered up his arms.

She snarled back at him. "Why should I?"

"What did he ever do to you, Belarus? Did he try and take your brother from you?" Estonia hissed. She made another animalistic growl, and he took a step towards her. "Your 'brother dearest' keeps on harassing Latvia. It's not his fault! What the hell is wrong with you? You and your damn obsession with Russia and knives and weird stuff like that!" He had raised his voice, and it bounced off the bathroom walls.

He should have just tried to get someone's attention. No one was near enough to hear his voice, but he could've probably screamed and got them to come. They would have recognized Belarus as dangerous, and done something.

But instead, he had just insulted her. Which was likely why there was a knife slicing the air in front of him as he narrowly avoided Belarus's attempt on his life. He sidestepped to avoid another swing of her knife.

"Shit, Belarus what are you doing?"

She was clearly furious, but her glare flicked back to Latvia every once in a while. Estonia was trying to get close to the door for enough time to open it and call for help. But every time his hand reached the knob, she tried to stab his hand.

He looked around for something he could use as a weapon while doing his best to avoid her in the small bathroom. There were shards of glass in the sink, but he couldn't reach them, and none looked big or sharp enough to do any damage. Latvia was still unconscious in the tub, and Estonia and Belarus were circling each other. He finally wound up with his back to the door and her on the opposite side. His hand was on the knob, and he was twisting it when she threw her knife.

It landed in the door, and grazed his arm. Blood dripped down onto the floor, and he hissed in pain.

"Open that door and you're both dead." When he turned his head back towards her, he saw that she was now holding two knives, one in each hand, and _one was pointing at Latvia_.

He knew she was perfectly capable of hitting him and Latvia simultaneously. He knew she never missed. He knew what would happen if he opened the door.

But he knew something else.

"You're not the killer." He paused. "You killed China, but not the others." He registered the tiny bit of surprise on her face as he spoke. "I'm not stupid, I'm observant. You want to kill Latvia because you think he's trying to take your brother from you. You blatantly ignore your sister because you know he prefers her to you. He has spent a lot of time with China, and you thought China was trying to steal him away as well. You're jealous. You're consumed by an unexplainable love for your brother, and you'd do anything for him. You'd kill. So you did. But if you'd done it any time before, people would try to keep you away from your brother. Here, with a secret killer on the loose, you were able to kill China, and people thought it was the killer." Estonia looked directly into her eyes. "But I know your knives; you've used them far too many times on me for me to not recognize their uniqueness. I saw the weapon in China's room, and it looked a lot like the ones you've got in your hand now."

Belarus said nothing, but moved quickly. Estonia barely ducked in time to avoid the knife that hit the door where his head had just been. He tried to pull the door open. Her second knife embedded itself in his left leg. He cried out and fell to the ground. His glasses hit the floor and cracked. His vision went blurry immediately.

Amidst this, Latvia's eyes began to crack open. He remembered Belarus knocking him out, but not more.

Belarus didn't notice him awake, as she was worried about the sound that Estonia had made. She stood over him as he knelt. His fingers were searching for his glasses and his mouth was open. Before he could scream, she stepped on his glasses, bent down, and sliced his neck, all in one quick movement.

There was no sound when he hit the ground, but there was a lot of blood.

Latvia pulled himself up, doing his best to ignore the pain in his arms that screamed and seared. Belarus spun around to face him. He was fully aware of what had just happened, and he was too scared for his life to worry about Estonia's.

"What have you done? What are you going to do to me?" His attempt at coherent speech must not have worked, because she didn't look like she'd understood him. Instead of asking him to speak again, she pointed her bloodied knife at him.

"Say a word of this to anyone and I'll slice your throat." She leaned towards him, continuing her threat. "Not just yours. I'll slice Lithuania's, and that other boy you hang out with. And I'll make you watch."

Well he couldn't say no to that.

…

During that episode, Japan's dark figure remained unseen in the library. This area was mostly unused, and if Japan ever needed anything, Greece would leave it in here.

There was nothing today except for some usual food. Japan didn't feel like eating today, though, and he left it there.

The sun had set, and the night had already come on, and Japan was lounging in the loveseat, reading a book. However, his mind travelled to other places as he read, and he couldn't concentrate on the book. It was the same book as earlier, the Dr. Seuss one. It wasn't a bad book, but Japan couldn't make himself enjoy it.

He snapped the book shut and stood up. Leaving the book in the chair, he walked towards the exit of the library. A little more exploring never hurt him, and he'd decided that if he actually did run into the killer, he was capable of defending himself.

Japan paused at the door. He turned around, thinking that he had heard something.

The room was exactly the same as before, except for the book he had left on the chair. It now rested on the floor.

The nation thought nothing of it. He walked back towards the chair and picked the book up off the floor. He dropped it back on the chair, and stilled in shock when he heard a voice that he couldn't quite place a name to.

"How's it going?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hola! I didn't die! **

**Sorry about the lateness, I'm a dork. Bluh. Anyway, I lost all my notes on this story. Which means I'm pretty much screwed, and I'm trying to work with what I remember. **

**I've decided that I am going to have to rewrite this entire story. I'll probably come back someday and rewrite it, I mean, this is only my first fic and I know I'm not that great at writing. This chapter is going up unedited, just like the last chapter (which hasn't been edited yet). Meh, screw my beta. If there's something wrong with my story, leave a note, because I dislike imperfection in grammar and the like. I'm trying not to be a total fail at everything.**

**By the way, I appreciate all the nice reviews and such. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy my writing. Even if it's crap. **


	13. Silence

_**Step 13: Silence**_

* * *

><p><em>All will fall and all will end<em>

_You cannot rely on friends_

_All will cease and all will die_

_The end begins with just a lie_

_I cursed your own to never speak_

_But silence isn't for the weak._

* * *

><p>"It's awfully strange; she seems to have lost the ability to talk. It's probably the trauma." Finland explained to Sweden.<p>

The two were sitting in the room that they were sharing, and having a "conversation." Finland was doing most of the talking. He was doing his best to not be intimidated by Sweden's staring while he talked about Liechtenstein.

The girl hadn't spoken since Switzerland had been killed. And Finland remembered that one time that he overheard Hungary speaking to no one. Or, at least, he had thought it was no one. He'd decided that it had probably been Liechtenstein that she was talking to, because the two had a good relationship, and Hungary had to have been speaking to someone.

"And she's practically avoided everyone except for Hungary." Finland sighed. "It's too early in the morning to think about this."

Sweden eyed him curiously and Finland did his best to smile reassuringly. "How have you been, Sweden?"

The taller man answered shortly. "Fine."

Finland didn't try and get anything else out of him, and he was relieved when someone else came into the room.

Iceland opened the door and said flatly, "There's been another one."

Finland let out a groan, and fell back on his bed.

The island nation laughed sarcastically. "Oh you'll want to see this one."

…

Germany was doing his best to console Italy. The small man had latched onto Germany, and definitely wasn't letting go anytime soon. At any other time, Germany would've shoved Italy off and scolded him for being clingy. But not today. Today, Germany, albeit a bit reluctantly, allowed Italy to hold and soil his uniform. If Japan had been there, he would've snapped a picture.

Italy wasn't doing a good job of muffling his sobs. Germany's uniform only stopped so much noise. If Italy got worked up over every single death, this would be the worst.

Japan was dead on the floor, with no expression on his face. His eyes were closed, and his mouth a line. His body was laid down, and his arms were flat by his sides. Each arm had a long, vertical slash down it, and his position looked deliberately put. The slashes looked a bit fresh, as if they were created after Japan's death. The cause of death looked to be strangulation, indicated by the dark ring and bruising on Japan's neck. One thing that stood out was the state of his hands. They were asymmetrical, unlike the rest of his body.

After prying Italy off of him, Germany knelt down and examined the hands. One was curled into a fist, holding a piece of paper. Germany did his best to take it from Japan's fingers without ripping it. A dead man's grip was hard to break.

He did finally manage to pull the paper out from Japan's hand. And he gently unraveled it from its crumpled form, careful not to tear it. It revealed a list, and and awfully familiar one at that.

Scrawled on the paper was simple list of numbers and names, each with a colorful checkmark next to it.

_1 Bulgaria_

_2 South Korea_

_3 Australia_

_4 Austria_

_5 Seychelles_

_6 Monaco_

_7 Netherlands _

_8 Canada_

_9 France_

_10 Switzerland_

_11 Denmark_

_12 China_

_13 Japan_

As Germany reached the end of the list, he noticed that there was one name at the bottom with no checkmark next to it. With a labeled "fourteen," the space next to Finland's name was empty.

…

Italy barely noticed as Germany proceeded to freak out. He refused to look at the body, and he was bawling. He covered his face with his hands and knelt down near his dead friend. Italy didn't raise his head to look at Japan, but closed his eyes. Tears still escaped them, and cries still escaped his mouth.

He didn't acknowledge Germany moving him off, and spinning around. Germany asked loudly where Finland was.

To Italy, the only important thing was his old ally, and his friend, lying dead in front of him. Each death had shocked him and scared him, but Japan's affected him the most. So far.

"He's next! He's going to die!"

Italy looked up only to glance around the room. He noticed that Finland was absent. But then again, it's not like everyone was in the room. Finland could be anywhere. Italy looked back down at Japan. Behind him, Germany yelled again for Finland. It was a lost cause. Italy didn't take his eyes off of Japan as he told Germany this. Even he wasn't stupid enough to not know it. Germany left the room in haste, but someone else knelt next to Italy in substitution of company.

America attempted a smile when Italy looked at him.

"Well you may have known him better than me, but we were pals too. You're probably really upset right now and I'm probably only messing things up, but I feel you. Japan was the best. I mean, it's just…" America seemed at a loss for words for once, and Italy appreciated the silence. They sat like that for a bit.

...

Latvia pulled Estonia out of the bathroom slowly. Belarus had headed out before him, directing him to stay in there for five minutes, and not leave unless no one was there. He'd fled the bathroom shortly after three minutes, and had raced down the hall without moving Estonia. He did his best to not appear too terrified to other nations.

As soon as he found Lithuania, he told him everything. It surprised him that Poland hadn't been attached to Lithuania, as he usually followed Lithuania around. But this surprise only lasted for a few seconds before Latvia had explained the entire episode.

Lithuania had stuttered. "He's dead?"

Latvia then nodded, and that was the end of that. There was only the decision of whom to tell and how much to tell. And that was how Latvia ended up dragging Estonia down the hall while Lithuania went to deliver the news to Germany. Latvia wasn't sure how Germany had managed to assume his slight leaderly position. All he knew was that Germany and England seemed to be the two willing to take charge, and they seemed to get along well enough.

Latvia didn't trust either of them. He was having a difficult time trusting anyone. Innocence was not kept among nations, even young ones. Even America was shady, and he had been the most honest of all of them. Latvia didn't trust America either.

He sighed suddenly, taking a moment to drop Estonia and catch his breath. Strength really wasn't his forte, and he'd done enough running today. It could only get worse if he ran into Russia.

"Hey Latvia!"

Needless to say, Latvia screamed.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" He exclaimed, turning to face a surprised-looking Finland.

The bubbly Nordic (as to which he was often referred) laughed. "Sorry about that! I just saw you and—"

Latvia stepped aside after realizing that Finland had no idea why he was panting in the middle of a hallway, and hunched over something. He moved aside calmly, and allowed the happier of the two to see what the result of an angry Belarus was. Not that Finland knew that Belarus had killed Estonia.

That was the agreement they had come to. Latvia and Lithuania agreed to tell no one about Belarus, and Latvia had expected it. It was hesitantly that Lithuania had believed his story, but even Lithuania couldn't be blinded by a crush. One that he should have gotten over by now.

Finland still hadn't said a word yet. He pointed at Estonia, then opened his mouth. He still made no noise.

Having said no words, he moved efficiently. He closed his mouth, walked over to Latvia, and picked up Estonia by the arms. Latvia helped by grabbing the legs and they transferred Estonia's body.

They took it to the same office that the other corpses were in. Bulgaria's office made a petty morgue, but it had to do. To burn the bodies would be dangerous, and none could even bring themselves to try anyway. There was nowhere else that they could think of to put the dead. In essence, the office reeked of blood and rotting flesh. Anyone who went in was out in a matter of minutes. Each body was laid neatly, as if it were the best they could do for the already deceased.

The body was dropped with little care, and the pair left the room.

"I'm sorry," Finland said as they were walking away. "About Estonia. You two seemed close."

"We were." Latvia answered coolly. He wanted to thank Finland for caring, but there were no words rising from his throat.

They parted ways at the next split in the hallway, and Latvia had no idea what was about to happen.

…

Germany crushed the list in his hands. It was likely too late already.

Not that this notion stopped him in any way from darting down the halls, interrogating every person he passed.

He passed by another person, and took a few moments to stop and talk.

"Have you seen Finland?" His breaths were faster, and his heart was racing. He kept his voice even, though.

The shorter male looked up at him in confusion. "Finland?" Latvia cocks his head to the side. "Yeah, we were just talking. We split up a few minutes ago. Why?"

But his questioned was ignored and overturned by Germany's rushed one. "Where?"

So Latvia took him back to where he was before. The smaller blonde led and Germany quickly grew irritated with Latvia's slow gait.

"We were just coming back from the office," He knew that Germany knew which one, "and we were just talking. I guess it was odd that he was all alone and—oh yeah, what are you all hyped up about anyway?"

Germany was about to answer before he was interrupted by a voice down the hall.

"Ah, Germany—Mr. Germany, there's been an incident!" Lithuania hurried down the hall from where they'd stood previously.

Latvia took a moment to appear genuinely surprised. "You haven't told him yet?"

Germany growled. "What?"

"Ah, perhaps you can figure it out on your own," Lithuania said to Germany. "This trio isn't complete."

And Germany worked it out quickly, and he gaped for a moment. Shock registered in his mind. "Estonia is the incident?" He pulled the crumpled paper from his hands, the one he'd condemned to never be seen again earlier. He did his best to flatten the paper. "That can't be right." He muttered.

"What is it?" Latvia asked.

He was handed a messy paper from Germany. The words were smudged, and the ink lines blurred, but Latvia could read it well enough. Not a minute later, he passed the paper off to Lithuania.

"Estonia's not on that list. But I know he's dead. I saw—I found his body. He's in that office, lying next to the others." Then something clicked in his mind, and as Lithuania sucked in a gasp, Latvia let out a long breath. "She's not the—oh god." He tore off down the hall in the direction he'd been leading Germany.

He called back, "We have to find Finland before it's too late!"

Lithuania, now done with the list, returned it to Germany, and the two shared a glance.

"Go that way." Commanded the blonde, pointing in the opposite direction that Latvia had gone.

The other nodded, and darted away. Germany then followed Latvia.

…

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Prussia breathed in and out quickly, attempting to not hyperventilate. "Shit, I'm so sorry, dude. Oh god, no," He put this head in his hands and mumbled apologies he didn't need to make.

Sweden did nothing but glare at the lifeless form of his friend.

Prussia had found him. Being the impulsive person that he was, he'd gone to find Sweden. He was now starting to regret that decision. Finland was dead and Sweden looked furious.

The body was slumped against the side of the hallway. A quick stab in the abdomen had killed him; it was the only mark on Finland. A large spot of blood was on the wall above Finland's slouched form, just like something out of a crappy American horror movie. Blood dripped of the front of his shirt, around his heart, the only way to assure a death quick enough. He'd bled out quickly.

Sweden had been the first to come to Prussia's mind, and he happened to be close. But it was stupid, because Sweden was currently seething, and he hadn't spoken, and Prussia was just _a bit _scared.

"Yeah, sorry, dude, but I'm, uh, just going to go get someone, okay? I'll be back; you just, uh…stay here." Prussia didn't care how awkward he sounded, he just moved away. In all honesty, Sweden looked dangerous, and Prussia wasn't foolish enough to risk a fight with him.

He slipped down the hall quickly, and very nearly ran into just the guy he was looking for.

"West, there you are!" Prussia thanked his lucky stars, and pushed his brother around the corner, towards the body. "It's a bit gory, but not as bad as previous deaths."

As Germany approached, Prussia noticed a smaller blonde struggling to catch up. Latvia looked tired. Being who he was, Prussia chose that moment to clap him on the back.

"Hey there, Latvia! How're you doing?"

Latvia panted in response. Then he took a few breaths to calm down and glared skeptically at Prussia. "How can you be so enthusiastic?"

Prussia's smile faltered, but he kept his voice high as he answered. "No use being bummed about everything!"

"One of my only friends is dead." Latvia deadpanned.

"Oh…" Prussia paused. "Sorry 'bout that. But wait—you weren't close to Finland at all, so who?"

Latvia continued to sulk and answered quietly. "Estonia's been killed." He attempted to push past Prussia, and the ex-nation didn't stop him.

Prussia didn't stay to watch his reaction. He had a somewhat job, and it came with Germany's sudden leadership; all he had to do was tell everyone. He hung out with his younger brother a lot, and he'd taken to this new task.

He found everyone else who was not there already, and he warned them because, ultimately, it was Finland who was dead and Prussia would be damned if Sweden wasn't outraged. They had such a close bond, no matter how many times Finland pushed Sweden away for calling him his "wife." Those goddamn Nordics.

…

America left the library last. Prussia had just come in to tell them that Finland was bleeding and dead in a hallway in the other side of the house. Everyone else cleared out.

The young nation, however, had noticed the book; it was peeking out from under the lounge chair by Japan's body. He picked up the copy of _Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss_. He grinned. It was one of his favorite books.

Still smiling, he opened the book. An old key fell to the floor. It was small, and faded gold. America picked it up gingerly. He held it up to the light, then quickly checked to see if anyone was watching him. He slipped it into his pocket, not really intending to tell anyone about it.

As he stood up from the floor, he noticed the writing. Someone had written in the book. America picked it up again and stared at the last two pages. The last two were always blank, and someone had taken a black office pen to it. They'd certainly used the whole page to their advantage. It was covered with messy, sharp handwriting, and there was a bit of blood down by the corner of the page.

The handwriting was not familiar to America, though he noted that his was no neater. He ripped the pages out as close to the seam of the book as he could get, not wanting to risk someone suspecting him. He folded the pages and put them in his pocket. Then he closed the book and returned it to the shelf.

With one last look at Japan, he left.

Under his breath he mumbled words from the pages.

"Follow these directions if you want to escape…."

…

Norway hardly acknowledged Sweden, save for a hand on his shoulder. It was enough for the two of them.

Iceland joined them a few minutes later.

"Caring is not an advantage."

That was what they were supposed to believe. But Iceland didn't believe it himself, because he'd definitely shown something other than a frown when Denmark died, and he knew that he did care for some people. Only some, though.

Sweden hadn't spoken, and Norway didn't prompt him to. It was just the three of them.

Though that didn't last long.

"So you do mourn for him then," Crooned Russia. "He was the nicest of all of you. Everyone liked him. I liked him. He was nice, even to me."

Norway looked up in alarm. Russia seemed terribly out of character. "What do you want?" He snapped.

"Yes, he was kind to me, the monster that is me," Russia said calmly, intentionally ignoring Norway. "But he was nice to everyone. Why he even tolerated _you_." The tall man glared directly at Sweden, who glared back.

Sweden was the only one who ever stared Russia down; the two actually stood at the same height. Neither moved from their positions, and Sweden didn't react to any of the other's words.

Norway spoke again. "He didn't deserve to die." It was pointed accusingly at Russia.

Russia finally responded. "I'm not saying he did. I'm saying quite the opposite, actually." Then Russia smiled sweetly, and turned back to Sweden. "Don't you want to know who did it? Aren't you _furious_? He was practically the only one you talked to. Don't you miss him already?"

"Get out." Norway hissed. Iceland glared in assent with his brother.

"I mean you no harm," The ash-blonde replied, while twiddling with his scarf. "I thought I should pay him a visit too." For a moment, Russia looked genuinely upset. "He was never like the others. Even when he ran, he was impossible to hate." Then the expression faded. "Oh he could've done so much better if _I _had him."

And then there was a fist flying, and Russia wasn't fast enough to avoid it. Sweden punches him in the face and actually _glares_. If most people thought his normal gaze was a glare, then they would be very scared right now.

His head flew back, but Russia recovered quickly. He finally let the façade drop. His friendly smile turned into a grimace. His eyes turned threatening. He left the room quickly.

Norway let out a long breath. He slumped back into his normal slouch, having been tense a few seconds ago. He was surprised. He'd expected some sort of violent break out from Russia. While Sweden could certainly handle himself, Norway would've had to get Iceland out somehow, and that would've been difficult.

Sweden started moving. He picked up Finland on his own, and waved a hand at Iceland and Norway when the two attempted to help. He gave them a meaningful stare, one that they both understood well enough to mean that he wanted solitude.

They let him go.

…

"And I suppose you just like to stir up trouble, don't you," Ukraine sighed. "I know who did it Russia, you don't just fall into a table. Seriously." She pressed a damp paper towel to his bruising eye as he sat across from her. They were both in his room, and she was tending to his face, bashed up by someone. The skin around his eye was already turning purple and swelling a bit.

Russia said nothing in response to her.

"It isn't going to look good tomorrow, and people are going to wonder."

Her younger brother finally spoke. "It was fun."

"It wasn't worth it."

"It was. He actually got mad. He looked hilarious. I should try it again, just to see the rage on his face." Russia smiled innocently at his sister. "They are so funny. They get mad so easily. I should like to make them all one with me. To invade them, to destroy them, to own them…."

Ukraine wasn't nearly as taken aback as she should've been. "Now Russia, there's really no need for that. They never hurt you. And they never will. You shouldn't worry yourself over war, and destruction, and death. You need not do so." It didn't matter if he didn't listen to her. She had just wanted to get it out.

She never noticed her sister peeking into the room from the door.

Belarus never entered.

…

America looked out of place. It wasn't typical of Cuba to notice, nor to keep watching, but it was odd. He wasn't fighting, nor loudly proclaiming his hero-ness, nor talking.

Cuba leaned back in his chair. He looked on curiously at the typically-energetic blonde. He decided to simply observe. Because right now, if anyone was acting out of character, it was definitely going to be addressed.

Left coat pocket. There had to be something there. America kept checking it. Every few minutes, his hand returned to pat it. Cuba watched subtly as he could, wondering if anyone else noticed.

When Cuba scanned the room, only one other seemed to be observing America. Romania was watching him with a curious look. He must've noticed something off.

The pseudo-but-not-really-vampire was chatting animatedly with England, but at the same time, made cautious, hidden glances over England's shoulder to look at the young blonde.

Cuba made an internal note to talk with Romania later. He sighed when a familiar once-friend walked up to America. Russia was odd, dangerous, and he liked to make trouble. Cuba was too far away to hear it, but he watched them from where he was. Russia seemed to startle America. The blonde jumped when he approached.

Something was definitely off. Their conversation was short, and America walked away before they could start fighting, an activity that America was always eager to jump into.

Cuba stood up immediately. But didn't follow. Would it be better to go now and confront him, or wait? He should really just try and stealthily follow America. Although, he wasn't really good at sneaking and hiding and creeping and that stuff. But there was someone who was…

Romania was already gone.

Cuba didn't know where he'd gone but it was safe to assume that he had followed America because England was now attempting to start a conversation with New Zealand, who was staring back skeptically.

He decided to give up for the night. It was getting late, and he was tired. He wasn't much of a plotter or thinker, anyway.

When he returned to his room, its other occupant was already there. Sometimes he forgot that Liechtenstein moved into his room. He had no idea why, she would've been better off with any of the other choices, but she chose him. He tolerated it. She was no threat, nor impolite in the slightest.

She was already lying in her bed, rolled on her side. He assumed that she was sleeping.

With that he tucked himself in and fell asleep quickly, reminding himself to find Romania tomorrow.

…

It was all quiet in Russia's room. Everything was shrouded in darkness, no moonlight coming in through the windows.

Someone opened the door silently, entered, and closed the door.

Russia sat up with a smile and gripped a metal pipe under the covers.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow I'm an asshole.**

**AUGH I need to update more often I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me. **

**wweh. Ah well, school's almost out, though I need to prepare for exams. But at least I'm finally done with 13. Only some twenty chapters left. Wait how many people do I have left to kill. Eh. I feel like I'm being so obvious with who the killer is, but at the same time, I'm making it impossible to choose. bluh. **

**okay. I hope you enjoy reading my shitty fic. And a big thanks to Ruvina no Ookami Hime who is writing a fic similar to my own, though it is in Indonesian. **

**And happy birthday to Chibi Night Angel! It's today, the 25th! Wooo!**


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